The Nine Lives of Chloe King

The Nine Lives of Chloe King

Liz Braswell

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Have you ever fallen off something? The monkey bars, a chair, a ladder? Well, what if you fall off of a building or, let’s say, a tower, and survive? In The Nine Lives of Chloe King, Chloe is your average teenage girl, until the day before her sixteenth birthday when she falls off of Coit Tower and lives, without a scratch. From there Chloe’s life becomes that of nightmares. Mysterious men trying to kill her, boyfriends almost dying from her kiss, oh, and did I mention, claws?

            

I really like The Nine Lives of Chloe King. It was nearly eight hundred pages, but I read through it quite quickly. The first chapter is a little slow, but from there everything picks up. It reminded me a little of Eragon, in that the author didn’t really leave out much of the story, thus the seven hundred pages. The characters were vivid and interesting. My favorite was Alyec, who was sexy and very much the bad boy. The fights were well choreographed but sometimes they seemed to go on forever.

           

I do think this book is worth reading, although, only if you have enough time. Chloe can be whiny, but she’s enjoyable none the less. If you don’t read it for the awesome supernatural aspects or the pretty cool fight scenes, read it for the romance, because that had me on my toes.

3 pearls!

P.S. It’s way different than the television series.

Keep reading!

XOXO

Rosie

The Giver

The Giver

Lois Lowry

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         The Giver is one of my all-time favorite books. And for none of the typical reasons. It doesn’t have a great, passionate love story. It doesn’t have action scenes or heroic powers. But this story leaves a mark on anyone who reads it. It makes you think. At least it really made me think when I first read it around the age of eleven.

            Jonas is eleven going on twelve, content with his life in the Community. He is approaching the age at which he will be assigned his job in the Community. In the Community everyone works, doing the job they were given. No one is ever hungry, pain is very rare and quickly relieved, and no one is singled out for differences because there are practically none, they all live in sameness. When Jonas is assigned the job of Receiver, the most honored position in the Community, he doesn’t know quite what he is in for, only that he is given this honor because he can see beyond. He works with the current Receiver to take over the job, but slowly begins to see that his once thought perfect community has more flaws than anyone is willing to admit to. But Jonas has to wonder what he, just one person, even with a gift can do to make a change reveal the truth.

            I know the description is a bit confusing and ambiguous, but I refuse to give anything away to those who have not read this absolutely amazing story. It’s a short read, and even though the narrative is from a 12 year old boy, I would recommend this to anyone. I have reread mine so many times the spine is tearing.  Lois Lowry did a wonderful job creating a realistic society and characters. Her sequel to this, Gathering Blue is another I would highly recommend, and will definitely be reviewing soon! Five Pearls for Mrs. Lowry!

XOXO

Kenna-Lee

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle


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(Sorry lovely readers for the delay! Two jobs can be a little hectic, but I hope to get back to regular posting)


This collection of short stories has it's ups and downs, but it's ups are truly spectacular. This collection, while the overall title is lesser known, contains some of the more famous short stories, and introduces many key characters into the Canon.
What's different about these stories is that the reader sees more humanizing of Holmes. He went to University! He has a brother! (Mycroft Holmes is introduced in "The Greek Interpreter") He enjoys picnics! (I know, right? Sherlock Holmes on a picnic.) Conan Doyle outdoes himself with the little details in these stories.
On the other hand, the stories also seem to begin to build a pattern. They have similar plot lines, villains, and twists. Some of the stories don't even have real mysteries ("The Yellow Face" is well-written...but it's not a mystery really). Of course, by the time most of these stories were written, Conan Doyle was already getting tired of the Detective, and it rubs off in his stories.
But, then there are some incredible stories as well.


"The Gloria Scott" is a fun mystery with cover-ups, ships, false names, blackmail, and friends! In this story, the reader meet Victor Trevor, an old friend of Sherlock's. The story is also all written in flashback, as Holmes recalls the case.
"The Naval Treaty" is a great story that goes into great detail of each suspect and each of their possible motives. it's about an old friend of Watson's who has an important naval document stolen from him while he went to get a coffee.


And finally, I have to dedicate a good chunk of the review to the most famous short story of the entire Sherlock Holmes Canon.
"The Final Problem"
Because in this very story we meet the most important villain of all. Professor Moriarty (gasp!).
The story has an air of sadness over it. You know it's the end, you might even know how it ends, but you still want to read it. It's that effect along that has made it so hauntingly popular. Here is a man of equal intelligence to Sherlock Holmes, ready to fight to the death to win. And of course, it does end up to be a fight to the death. Watson receives a letter from Holmes saying that if he got this letter, Sherlock is, in fact, dead. Foot prints at the Reichenbach Fall in Switzerland show the two adversaries falling off the cliff.
The story has a sort of anti-climax that works for the story. The Man of Mystery dies...well, mysteriously! And at the end is the heartbreaking goodbye from Watson.
I think that's why this story above all the others, is the most often adaption to radio, film, and other forms of media. It's a battle, it's a downfall, and most importantly, it's the loss of a friend. Conan Doyle's writing superbly expresses Watson's heartbreak, and it makes you completely feel his pain.


My only problem with this story is that it's short. Sherlock Holmes should go out with a bang, right? And a huge one! This story is quick and to the point. But I'd love to see it in novel form.


Overall, another good edition to the Canon. A mixture of good mysteries, a few oddities, and a heart-string pulling ending. 4 pearls!


Ta!


XOXO
-Babsie

Glimpse

Glimpse

Stacy Wallace Benefiel

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You know what happens when your parents kidnap you and force you to stay in a rolling box (ok, motorhome) for seven days driving from home, a large city in southern Cali, to a rural town in Wyoming? You read and write a lot. And sleep, that too. Don’t get me wrong, Wyoming is beautiful, but the ten hours of driving through desert gets more than monotonous. Unfortunately for me, I did not bring a good book that I could get into. So I decided to try a free book on my Itunes. I will say this, there is a good reason a lot of those books are free.

            Well, now that I’ve finished that completely unnecessary rant, the free book I got on my phone from Itunes was Glimpse by Stacy Wallace Benefiel. The story is about teenager Hazel (Zellie) Wells who is desperately in love with a boy named Avery Adams in her grade, but is pretty sure he doesn’t even know she exists. But naturally he feels exactly the same way. That is a big problem with this story, it is entirely too predictable and unrealistic. One thing I completely hate in stories is when the main character seems to be who the author wishes she could be. This read like that. Zellie and Avery instantly fall madly in love with each other (within, like, a matter of hours) but then their parents are against their relationship. It goes a little Romeo and Juliet with them defying their parents to be together but that is short lived because the real twist of the story is Zellie has a vision of Avery’s death the first time they have contact.

            She tells no one of these visions but soon finds out they are hereditary from her mother and grandmother. From then Zellie must go on a short, anticlimactic mini-adventure with her best friend Claire and younger sister Melody to discover her full powers and prevent Avery and her parents from thinking she is a freak. I’ll let you guess the ending.

            Some major problems with this story: A lack of character development. In fact, the characters seem to develop backwards, or switch personalities entirely. Zellie is supposed to be shy, a bit awkward, and average. Suddenly, she transforms into a confident girlfriend, superhero type character. Claire is supposed to be confident, the girl who has things go her way, but in the end she is the one almost ruining everything, and Melody is supposed to be the annoying younger sister but she turns into an overly-caring, responsible character for Zellie to lean on. Another problem with this story: the acceptance of the psychic gene. The whole story is set in a small town and Zellie’s father is the pastor of the church. And most of the characters are completely okay with this magical force that contradicts their religion. One last problem: the ending. I won’t spoil it for you, but if you read it, you will understand how terribly disturbing and unrealistic it is. Honestly I’m not sure how I finished this book, I was pretty desperate after staring at the same looking mountains, but this book was not worth the time. As I said in previous posts, I am a firm believe in forming your own opinion, so check it out if you want, you may appreciate what I couldn’t. 1 pearl.

XOXO

Kenna-lee

Skin Hunger

Skin Hunger
Kathleen Duey
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Besides the title being Skin Hunger, which honestly I don't get, this book is not as creepy as one might fear. It's called the Resurrection of Magic series, and actually, it's quite brilliant. 


The story starts off in the third person point of view of Micah, who is a young boy at the time. The story talks about the birth of his sister and how he is running to find a wizard/witch to help his mother during the process. Well everything goes horribly wrong, but Sadima, the new babe, is still alive. The story then switches to the first person voice of Hahp. He is chosen to attend a school of wizarding, a horrible place where few who attend actually survive. 


The whole book reminds me somewhat of the feeling I got when I read Eragon. It's long, and there are parts that don't need to be there, but I still enjoy them. Each part is exciting and sometimes you can't wait for the next part while you're reading a dull part of the other. The character are great too. Well thought out, and you hate and love them at the same time. The one thing I didn't like was that the end of the book was the same as the ending of the chapters. The second book, Sacred Scars, might as well just been thrown in and the book could be extremely long. However, I really did enjoy it, so 4 pearls for Skin Hunger. (I still don't get the name!)


Keep on Reading
XOXO
Rosie

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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I have to admit, while I hold some of Doyle's Holmesian novels close to heart, he is a darn good short story writer. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the first published series of short stories by Doyle, and it really shows a great deal more about the famous detective and his trusty doctor (who is now married!). 


The Adventures features one of the greater characters in the series. She's a brilliant criminal who's name will always appear next to Sherlock Holmes', even though she is only mention in one short story (talk about a memorable character!). She is the infamous Irene Adler, or as she is called in the story "The Woman". If you want a bit of romance from the detective, this is the closest you'll get, as Adler is the only woman to match wits with Holmes. She features in "A Scandal in Bohemia". 
If you want a good laugh (possibly at the expense of some red-haired people) and an interesting tale, look no further than "The Red-Headed League". It's a story about a terrible "prank" on the red-haired people of London who get paid to do nothing, until one day, the league vanishes. This story has an interesting twist near the end, which made it pretty enjoyable.
Another favorite of mine was "The Boscombe Valley Mystery". The story features a wild goose chase that revolves around a singular man, James McCarthy, who swears he's innocent. This story is brilliant in the fact that for a while, you can't be quick sure whether James is telling the truth, you just have to go off of faith in Holmes (who seems to be infallibly right) to find out the truth. And it's the truth that'll shock you!
"The Speckled Band" is also a great thriller, but just a warning, it jumps way back in time, so don't expect Watson's wife to make an appearance.


Now, I won't review every story in the book, but here's a few who I thought were a little weaker:


"The Engineer's Thumb" is a bit of a weird story with a big anticlimax. While Holmes isn't always suppose to "catch the bad guys", this story builds up a lot for no closure. Not something an avid book reader wants in a short story.
Another odd little story is "The Man With The Twisted Lip". This story is one the few that writers often try to add to in their own ways (a good example is "The Men With The Twisted Lips" by S. J. Rozan). There's no real explanation as to why this case is important, and it really seems like a string of coincidences. Doyle never explained this story, so we may never know the real truth behind it.


Overall, this is a good read. It's not a "sit down and finish in one day" type of book. It's a good meal book (I like to read and eat. It's odd, but pleasurable) or "in between books" book. Overall, four pearls!


Tune in next week for more Canon reviews!


XOXO
Babsie

The Art of Truth or Dare

The Art of Truth or Dare
By Melissa Jensen
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          The Art of Truth and Dare follows teenager Fiorella Moreno, who goes by Ella, at a prestigious institution, The Willing School. Despite the common talents between her and her classmates, she still struggles with the typical class structure of cliques, the rich and pretty on top trickling down to invisibles. Ella and her two best friend are, naturally, at the bottom of the food chain. But none of them seem to mind their fate, except when Ella falls for Alex, the school’s leading man. But Ella is certain he is out of the question even though they have a passion for art in common.

The little details in this story are absolutely fantastic, but sometimes the descriptions can take you out of the story line. While as a reader I was definitely given a sense of place, I found myself waiting for the story to continue. Ella’s family dynamic is one of the stronger aids of this story. Whether you are used to a small family, or a large one, you will be relating to this loud Italian family a lot. They are funny but true, and sometimes I found myself wishing I could read more about them all together.

One of my biggest complaints about this story is the transitions. They were honestly very bad and confusing. The story would jump from dialogue at a mall scene to a scene at home going to bed without so much as an extra space between paragraphs. Several times I had to go back and re-read to make sure I hadn’t missed something. The only other flaw was more of a misconception about genre. This book was a lot more dense than I thought it would be. I picked it up hoping for a fun, light, “chick-flick” type read, and instead I found myself struggling to keep track of art history facts and characters names. Overall this was not a bad read, just not a top pick for me. 3 pearls.

XOXO

Kenna-Lee