Category: Young Adult

YA Review: Warcross by Marie Lu (a.k.a. my reading disappointment of the year…)

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Warcross by Marie Lu
Warcross #1 • 416 Pages • Young Adult

TASCHIMA’s Verdict:
Two Stars
Publish Date: September 12th, 2017

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

I have never felt so betrayed. I really wanted to like Warcross (it is Marie Lu! Sci-Fi, virtual reality, video games!) but it is just not for me. Warcross seems like Arena’s [by Holly Jennings] younger brother, who is really trying to be like big bro but it is not quite there yet.

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Book Review: Don’t Stay Up Late

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late

Ever since a car accident killed her father and put Lisa and her mother into the hospital, Lisa can’t think straight. She’s plagued by nightmares and hallucinations that force her to relive the accident over and over again in vivid detail. When Lisa finds out that a neighbor is looking for a babysitter for her young son, she takes the job immediately, eager to keep busy and shake these disturbing images from her head.
But what promised to be an easy gig turns terrifying when Lisa begins to question exactly who — or what — she is babysitting.

Pros – I genuinely enjoyed this book. Possibly the best of the Relaunch titles.

Cons – Terrified me to never babysit again.

Note – This is less a review and more of a quiz…? Read my Status Updates!

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Book Review: Give Me a K-I-L-L

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gimme

At Shadyside High, cheerleading can be a scream!

For the first time since the original series, R.L. Stine brings back his most beloved characters—the cheerleaders of Shadyside High.

The cheerleading squad at Shadyside has always been strong, but now there are rumors that lack of funds may mean the end of cheerleading at Shadyside. That would be a shame for Heather Wyatt, who has just transferred from her old school, where she was a star, and is eager to join the squad. There’s only one other girl who stands in her way—rich, spoiled Devra Dalby, who is also trying out for the one open slot. The competition to join the squad is anything but friendly—and it ends in murder. Will Heather make the squad—if there’s even a squad anymore—or will she end up dead?

Packed with screams and guaranteed to send a shiver up your spine, this is a terrifying installment in Stine’s bestselling Fear Street series.

Pros – none. Well ok Stine writes as energetically as usual.

Cons – Possibly everything.

Spoiler – You know what, who cares – read my spoilers below.

Note – My level of livid is pretty high here folks.

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Book Review: Party Games

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party games

Her friends warn her not to go to Brendan Fear’s birthday party at his family’s estate on mysterious Fear Island. But Rachel Martin has a crush on Brendan and is excited to be invited. Brendan has a lot of party games planned. But one game no one planned intrudes on his party—the game of murder. As the guests start dying one by one, Rachel realizes to her horror that she and the other teenagers are trapped on the tiny island with someone who may want to kill them all. How to escape this deadly game? Rachel doesn’t know whom she can trust. She should have realized that nothing is as it seems… on Fear Island.

Pros – Fear Island! Fear Family! MURDER ON AN ISLAND

Cons –  Well. I’m confused by what really happened here?

Note – As the start of the non-Canonical return to Fear Street, this was an interesting effort. I 100% recommend you read my status updates from when I first read this.

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Book Review: The Blazing Star

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the-blazing-starSixteen-year-old Portia White is used to being overlooked—after all, her twin sister Alex is a literal genius.

But when Portia holds an Egyptian scarab beetle during history class, she takes center stage in a way she never expected: she faints. Upon waking, she is stronger, faster, and braver than before. And when she accidentally touches the scarab again?

She wakes up in ancient Egypt—her sister and an unwitting freshman in tow.

Great.

Mysterious and beautiful, Egypt is more than they could have ever imagined from their days in the classroom. History comes alive as the three teens realize that getting back to the present will be the most difficult thing they’ve ever done. Stalked by vicious monsters called Scorpions, every step in the right direction means a step closer to danger.

As Portia and the girls discover that they’re linked to the past by more than just chance, they have to decide what it truly means to be yourself, to love your sister, and to find your way home.

Pros – Egypt! Sikara and Alex’s bickering, not insta-love just add teen lust

Cons – Alex’s general attitude, lack of context at times in regards to people, vague undefined time frame

Note – Isn’t that cover beautiful? You should also check out the book trailer, also gorgeous!

Spoiler – my historical note at the end contains spoilers for the Egyptian/Ancient Personages that appear in the book as well as documented history. Please refer to my GR Review if you’d like to avoid all of that.

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2017 Anticipated Titles: Whatever I Want Edition

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1111i4z
Ben Wyatt is literally my patronus

Friends, readers, laymen…lend me your eyeballs. As we approach 2017 let’s look at some awesome cool books coming out shall we? From the gloriously expected from authors we know will please us to newcomers, 2017 has some whoopers of titles being released.

Leading up to 2017 there shall be 5 posts about books I’m looking forward to in:

  • SFF (Science Fiction & Fantasy) (link)
  • Romance (link)
  • Anthology (link)
  • Whatever I Want
  • Young Adult Contemporary (link)

Some books may cross over in terms of category, but I tried to list them on the list I consider them first to be.

Today’s edition is all about whatever the hell I want. There’s graphic novels here mostly, but also some other interesting titles…

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2017 Anticipated Titles: YA Contemporary

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1111i4z
Ben Wyatt is literally my patronus

Friends, readers, laymen…lend me your eyeballs. As we approach 2017 let’s look at some awesome cool books coming out shall we? From the gloriously expected from authors we know will please us to newcomers, 2017 has some whoopers of titles being released.

Leading up to 2017 there shall be 5 posts about books I’m looking forward to in:

  • SFF (Science Fiction & Fantasy) (link)
  • Romance (link)
  • Anthology (link)
  • Whatever I Want (link)
  • Young Adult Contemporary

Some books may cross over in terms of category, but I tried to list them on the list I consider them first to be.

Today’s edition is all about Young Adult Contemporary titles! A genre I don’t typically read, but which has some pretty fascinating titles releasing – including two racially diverse books, an Austen re-telling, a fangirl’s dream (or worst nightmare) and a book handling various disorders.

Continue reading “2017 Anticipated Titles: YA Contemporary” →

2017 Anticipated Titles: SFF Edition

Published on by forthesakeofreadingya5 Comments
1111i4z
Ben Wyatt is literally my patronus

Friends, readers, laymen…lend me your eyeballs. As we approach 2017 let’s look at some awesome cool books coming out shall we? From the gloriously expected from authors we know will please us to newcomers, 2017 has some whoopers of titles being released.

Leading up to 2017 there shall be 5 posts about books I’m looking forward to in:

  • SFF (Science Fiction & Fantasy)
  • Romance (link)
  • Anthology (link)
  • Whatever I Want (link)
  • Young Adult Contemporary (link)

Some books may cross over in terms of category, but I tried to list them on the list I consider them first to be.

Today’s edition is all about Science Fiction and Fantasy titles! What new worlds will we visit? What vistas shall we explore? How many Chosen Ones and Prophesized Ones will save the day? Let’s find out!

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Book Review: Vassa in the Night

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vassa-in-the-nightIn the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now—but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood.

In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.

But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair…

Pros – Babs (I will never not consider Baba Yaga a Pro in a book), the visuals of this book, Erg

Cons – The surreal nature sometimes makes it hard to understand just what happened, Vassa can be blind, dead things

Spoiler – If you know the original Russian fairy tale of “Vassilissa the Beautiful” you can guess how this will turn out.

Note – I got only one warning for y’all – if you have a weak stomach when it comes to dead things being described, be wary.

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Discussion: 5 Hyped Series That Don’t Work For Me

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We all know the books I mean when I say “hype”. Books that take the blog-o-sphere and beyond to dizzying heights of collective love. Books that consistently make the lists at the end of years or beginning of years or middle of years proclaiming them “Books I Must Have” “Books I Loved” “Books You Must Read”.

Some I’ve enjoyed. THRONE OF GLASS is one that I knew from the get-go I would love. Going further back to when I first began blogging Maggie Stiefvater’s “Wolves of Mercy Falls” series (SHIVER, LINGER, FOREVER and the new companion SINNER) was one I loved to pieces and actively participated in the hype.

Sometimes though books just don’t appeal. Around the same time I was loving Stiefvater I was REALLY disappointed by another werewolf series, “Nightshade” by Andrea Cremer. I thought I’d love the series based on how cool the world sounded and how awesome Calla was. Then I read the first book and my Rant was extraordinary. Equally I will likely never pick up a John Green novel as I really don’t understand what’s so great about his books. I tried PAPER TOWNS and AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES and gave up.

It seems to be happening more often now and with less than half a year to go I wanted to talk about some of the hyped books of the recent years that haven’t hooked me. No spoilers though so feel safe.

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