The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Length: 286 pages
Publication Date: 2008

Nobody Owens is a living boy who grows up in a graveyard. His family is murdered when he's just a toddler, and when he wanders into the graveyard he is protected and adopted by the ghosts therein. Bod has a happy childhood, playing with ghost children and being taught by ghost teachers, but the man who killed his family is still at large and looking to finish the job.

This is a wonderful reimagining of The Jungle Book. Bod spends his childhood caught between two worlds, not dead but quite out-of-touch with the living. Luckily for him, he is an intelligent and resourceful boy, getting him out of plenty of dangerous situations in both worlds.

I think the cast of characters are what really stood out for me in this book. From the mysterious Silas, Bod's guardian who can come and go from the graveyard as he pleases (I still wanna know more about him), to Scarlett, the human girl who makes a connection with Bod, to Mr. Frost, the kindly historian who studies the graveyard, every character has a personality, a voice, and adds a layer to the story.

This was an engrossing, magical read. 5 stars.

Decelerate Blue by Adam Rapp

Title: Decelerate Blue
Author: Adam Rapp
Illustrator: Mike Cavallaro
Length: 199 pages
Published: February 2017

In this dystopian world, life has become so accelerated that the focus of everything is on speed and efficiency. In speech, contractions are mandatory, adverbs are discouraged, and when you finish speaking you say "Go." Cool things are called "hyper" and movies are 14 minutes long. Angela discovers a resistance movement underground, where people are trying to slow down by never using contractions, sitting and reading, and lowering their heart rates. There's a bit of a young love story in there too.

I think this is a great concept for a dystopia, but while I enjoyed this graphic novel I feel like a novel might have done a better job of exploring the world a bit more. Lots of aspects of the world are hinted at but never explained, like how everyone talks about "guaranteeing their Guarantees" and people say "Go, Guarantee, Go!" to each other. What is the Guarantee Committee? What is the Database? These questions are never answered. The dystopian feel was good, but in my opinion a good dystopia has details.

The same is true of character development. I wanted to get to know the characters more (except the surprisingly many unpleasant characters in the underground; what's up with that?). Also, the plot goes at a good pace but then suddenly all the big stuff happens and the book is over!

So ultimately, I enjoyed this book, but I wanted MORE of everything.

Oh, also, the underground deciding to all take drugs together at the same time without really getting a chance to even see the effects of it made them seem a little less like a resistance and a little more like a cult. So that was a strange direction for them to take.

3 stars.

The Heir and The Crown by Kiera Cass

Titles: The Heir (The Selection #4) and The Crown (The Selection #5)
Author: Kiera Cass
Publication Dates: May 5, 2015, and May 3, 2016
Lengths: 342 pages and 278 pages

Warning: Contains spoilers for the original Selection trilogy.

I don't think I've ever done a double book review before! But I read The Heir and then immediately had to read The Crown so now it's hard to separate them in my mind. And in any case, it's all one story. This will be a long one, because these books gave me ALL THE FEELS.

These two additions to the Selection series tell the story of Princess Eadlyn, daughter of Maxon and America and heir to the throne. She has no plans to marry anyone any time soon, but soon finds herself at the centre of a Selection designed to distract a restless public. While she starts the Selection planning to hold out for three months and then end it without an engagement, things change as the political situation becomes more precarious and the boys work their way into Eadlyn's heart.

The Heir was hard for me to rate. In the heat of the moment when I finished the book, I gave it 5 stars, but I later downgraded it to 4 just because of how insufferable Eadlyn is. I get that she's a princess, but I don't get how any daughter of America's could grow up this much of a self-centred brat. Her treatment of her brother, Ahren, and her beloved maid, Neena, are particularly terrible, seemingly without her being aware of it. But, she does grow over the course of the story, especially in The Crown (which I did give 5 stars and which kept me up half the night needing to finish it).

As for the boys, it was interesting how different this Selection was from Maxon's. With the story being from the princess' point of view this time, you might think we'd get to know the suitors better, but the fact is that Eadlyn doesn't get to know many of them, not even going on dates with even those who make it to the Elite. As the choices dwindled, I became increasingly worried (correctly, I might add) that she wasn't so much narrowing it down to the best choices as she was eliminating the bad ones. There were a few guys I liked and was even rooting for, but a lot of the time the worry isn't that she'll have to pick but that she won't fall in love at all.

I gotta say, I did not see the ending coming, and I loved it! The rushed feeling of Eadlyn's Selection seems to accelerate the closer you get to the end, until Eadlyn is basically running around the palace changing her mind as she gets to each possible fiance. The Crown is similar to The One in the way it keeps you guessing and doubting and hoping and page turning until the very last second!

A couple final thoughts: OMG Maxon and America being all adorable and perfect for each other! And their little dropped hints about the complications in their own Selection that Eadlyn never knew about! And how much they care about Eadlyn's happiness! I just love them so much.

Also, without giving anything away to those who haven't finished the series yet, did anyone else think of Hans from Frozen? You know what I'm talking about.

Basically, if you could put up with America in The Elite, you can probably put up with Eadlyn in The Heir. And, in my opinion, it's so worth it to get that happily ever after.

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Title: Boy Meets Boy
Author: David Levithan
Publication Date: September 9, 2003
Length: 6 hours (audiobook)

Boy Meets Boy is a sweet teen romance story that takes place in a town that has more than the average amount of acceptance for LGBT+ people. Gay students are totally accepted by their peers, and a trans girl named Infinite Darlene is both the homecoming queen and the quarterback. The story is told by Paul, who meets the new boy, Noah, and falls head over heels. Of course, complications ensue, including an ex-boyfriend who suddenly needs Paul's help, and a best friend (Joni) who starts dating a total jerk.

I enjoyed the setting of this novel. While it's often described as utopian, David Levithan has said that he intended it to be basically the real world as it is currently becoming. Basically it's one town in which progress has been made to the point where LGBT+ people are just accepted for who they are. (It's not the whole world; just one town over is Paul's friend Tony, whose religious parents are more familiar to people living in the real world.) It was refreshing to read a story about gay characters whose biggest problems are misunderstandings with new boyfriends.

Tony was one of my favourite characters, showing the most growth over the course of the story. He goes from hiding his whole life from his parents to finally standing up to them and forcing them to see him as he really is.

One warning: I'm assuming it's because this book is over a decade old, but the treatment of Infinite Darlene is not the greatest. Throughout the story she seems to be pretty clearly portrayed as a trans girl, but then near the end they suddenly call her a drag queen. So, that was weird. In my mind she will remain definitely a girl, no matter how much football she plays.

On the audiobook: I listened to the Full Cast Audio production of this book, and it was excellent. I've read reviews of this book saying that the narrative was flat, but I think it's impossible to see it that way when hearing it read by Nicholas Robideau, who portrayed Paul in this edition. Good acting, music, and other sounds combined to make this better than the average audiobook I've listed to.

4 stars.

Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants by Louise Rennison

Title: Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #4)
Author: Louise Rennison
Publication Date: 2002
Length: 214 pages

Warning: This is a review of the fourth book in the series, and may therefore contain spoilers from earlier books. My review of the first book is here.

Georgia is still with the Sex God (Robbie), but he keeps going away on trips related to his rock star status, leaving Georgia all-aloney-on-her-owney. Meanwhile, Ellen is kind of dating Dave the Laugh, even while Georgia keeps accidentally kissing him. Much like in the previous book, Georgia can't seem to resist Dave, even while she's sure she wants to be with Robbie. And now that Dave's with Ellen, she's also got some jealousy and guilt going on.

The usual hilarious writing in this series had me laughing the whole way, and the ending was particularly satisfying for me (which hopefully doesn't give it away too much). There's not much to say about this book since it didn't have the major events that some of them do, but it's still a great read that had me giggling all the while.

5 stars.

The Book of David by Anonymous

Title: The Book of David
Author: Anonymous
Publication Date: June 2014
Length: 272 pages

Following the tradition of Go Ask Alice, The Book of David is written as if it were the diary of David, a gay teen living in the American South.

When Jon moves to town, the attraction between him and David is immediate and undeniable. But David is in total denial, so he spends much of the book trying to figure out his identity, all while trying desperately to hide his attraction to Jon from his family and friends. Eventually the truth comes out, and each person in David's life makes it clear whether or not they really care about him.

David's story is painful to read. He lives in a town that is still very backwards and where he knows he won't be accepted. I don't know if there really are still places in the U.S. that are that bad, but certainly there are still people as bad as those who don't accept David. This book made my heart break for every kid who has to worry about coming out to those kinds of people.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was the woman-hating. Like, just because you aren't attracted to girls, doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it, you know? I felt bad for Monica, dating a closeted gay guy who constantly gives her a hard time about not wanting to have sex with him.

But the budding relationship between David and Jon was sweet, and the characters who stand up for them are good enough people that the story has a happy side to it. Even though David's coming out has some pretty major consequences in his life, the story still ends with hope for a better future.

4 stars.

Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas by Louise Rennison

Title: Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #3)
Author: Louise Rennison
Publication Date: 2001
Length: 183 pages

Warning: This is a review of the third book in the series, and may therefore contain spoilers from the first two books.

So, Georgia is back with Robbie (sigh), but her new relationship is interrupted when she's forced to go on vacation to Scotland  (Och Aye land) with her family. While there, she meets another weird guy, this one a Scottish bloke she nicknames Jock McThick, and he touches her basooma in the dark. (Poor Georgia's basoomas can't catch a break from these weird guys!)

The ongoing issue in this book is Georgia's red-bottomosity, ie. having the general horn, ie. wanting all the boys. She's got the Sex God now, like she (misguidedly, I think) wanted, and now suddenly she has feelings for Dave the Laugh, who was just her Red Herring before. She didn't appreciate him when she had him, despite him being adorable, but now that he's dating her friend Ellen suddenly she sees his appeal. Good grief, Georgia.

So basically, more Georgia being ridiculous, and more of me laughing uncontrollably. I really love this series.

5 stars.

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

Title: This is Not a Test
Author: Courtney Summers
Publication Date: June 19, 2012
Length: 322 pages

The zombie apocalypse comes on quickly in this story. Sloane is at the breakfast table with her abusive father, contemplating suicide after her sister ran away without her, when a screaming woman bangs on their front door. Suddenly, there's chaos everywhere, with people eating each other in the streets. Sloane, along with five other teenagers, eventually manages to make it to the high school, where they hole up and hope that help will come.

This book, despite the premise, isn't really a zombie story. Zombies aren't what I would consider a primary part of the plot. It's all about the kids in the school. It's about what happens when you take six teenagers, who are very different, and lock them in a building together with death literally banging on the doors. And it's about the one who actually wants death to get in.

Obviously, character development is a big thing in this novel. Especially Sloane's development, but also the other characters, and the relationships between them. The author does a great job with that, and I really felt attached to some of them.

4 stars.

The Queen's Army by Marissa Meyer

Title: The Queen's Army (Lunar Chronicles #1.5)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication Date: November 23, 2012
Length: about 18 pages (ebook)

The Queen's Army is a short story in the Lunar Chronicles series, giving some backstory for one of the major characters in the second novel, Scarlet. I read this story in between Cinder and Scarlet, which I think is the intended reading order.

Ze'ev recently turned 12 years old, and he's top of his class, and strong, so he knew to expect a visit from the queen's thaumaturges. Not given a choice, he is taken away from his family to be genetically modified and trained as part of the queen's army. His modifications give him the improved strength, agility, and reflexes of a wolf. Since he knows that those who don't perform well are modified further, so that they are barely human, he does all he can to succeed in his new pack.

This is a great story. I loved watching how Z changes in order to survive. It's sad that he couldn't just be a kid and had to be put into such a terrible situation, but I like how he gets stronger and learns what he has to do to survive. Whether you read this one before or after Scarlet, you'll appreciate the backstory!

5 stars.

Glitches by Marissa Meyer

Title: Glitches (Lunar Chronicles #0.5)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication Date: December 5, 2011
Length: about 32 pages (ebook)

Glitches is a prequel to Cinder. It shows us the part of Cinder's story before she was an accomplished mechanic. In Glitches, she's just a scared girl with no memory of most of her past. Garan brings her home to live with his family, and her new stepmother is horrible to her. But one of her stepsisters, Peony, is kind and sweet.

At this point, Iko is just a pile of android bits, who was taken apart because she had a "glitch" (aka a personality). I enjoyed seeing how Cinder put her back together and they became friends. Iko is one of my favourite characters in this series.

Although Goodreads, FictFact, and the rest of the internet seem intent on numbering series in in-universe order (ie. putting this before Cinder), this really should be read after Cinder (in proper publishing order). (But that's a rant for another day.) Already knowing Cinder's character and being attached to her, Peony, and Iko, this story is great for filling in the blanks about them.

5 stars.

Wanted! by Caroline B. Cooney

Title: Wanted!
Author: Caroline B. Cooney
Publication Date: 1997
Length: about 230 pages (ebook)

Alice gets a phone call from her dad, who instructs her to find two computer discs on his desk, take his Corvette, and meet him at their regular ice cream place as soon as possible. Baffled by his strange instructions, she obeys, but as she's leaving the house she hears someone breaking in, and her dad never shows up at the meeting spot. Waiting in the car and listening to the radio, Alice hears on the news that her dad has been murdered, and that she had supposedly confessed to the crime via email! Terrified, Alice goes on the run, hoping all the while that someone will believe that she's innocent.

This was an enjoyable, fast-paced mystery. The whole time, I was like "This is a bad idea! You are making yourself look guilty by running and should really just go to your mom, even though she thinks you're guilty!" But of course, she didn't listen. She admits she has no plan as to where she's going to go (during the story she pretty much just circles her own town), but doesn't know what else to do but keep running until they figure out who actually killed her father.

4 stars.

Full disclosure: Free ebook copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent (Divergent #1)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publication Date: April 25, 2011
Length: 487 pages

Beatrice has grown up in the Abnegation faction, which values complete selflessness.Yet she's always struggled to be as selfless as her family. As a 16-year-old, Beatrice will soon have to decide which faction she'll spend the rest of her life with. While she doesn't want to leave her family and insult their values, she longs to join the Dauntless, the faction that values fearlessness.

After the Choosing ceremony, Beatrice (who soon rebrands herself as Tris) discovers that being accepted by a faction is no easy process. There are intense physical and psychological tests, and Tris must prove herself or wind up factionless. And through it all, she has to keep her secret, that's she's Divergent, which her society fears most of all.

It took some time for me to connect with Tris. I think that's mostly because there is no way I would ever choose Dauntless. It just seemed so unappealing to me. And I didn't like how some of the factions were so vilified, especially Erudite, the faction that values intelligence. I can't stand that they're portrayed as the bad guys! I totally would've chosen Erudite.

But, eventually Dauntless won me over. I still wouldn't choose it, but it gained my respect. Particularly the way Tris and Four view it. Also, this book gave me a strangely strong urge to get a tattoo.

Possibly my favourite thing in this novel was the fear landscapes. The idea of going into a holographic simulation that puts you through your worst fears is just so cool. Though I didn't really understand the process Tris went through to overcome each one. It makes me wonder what would be in my fear landscape. And how many fears I would have.

3 stars. Writing this review months later, I feel more positive about it and can't really remember why I gave it only 3 stars. But I always go with the rating I choose right after finishing. In any case, I'm looking forward to the second book!

On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God by Louise Rennison

Title: On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #2)
Author: Louise Rennison
Publication Date: 2000
Length: 243 pages

Warning: This is a review of the second book in the series, and may therefore contain spoilers from the first book.

So, Georgia is finally dating the Sex God, but things never just go smoothly in Georgia's life. Her mom tells her they're going to New Zealand to visit her dad. Her cat, Angus, is driving the new neighbours crazy by flirting with their fancy cat, and before long Robbie breaks things off, saying that Georgia's too young for him (which is true, but try telling Georgia that). She decides that to get him back, she must practice maturiosity and glaciosity, and have a Red Herring, aka a poor innocent boy she pretends to like just to make Robbie jealous.

Georgia really is quite dreadful. It shows a lot in this book. Dave the Laugh is such a sweetheart, and I'm sure if it weren't for the Sex God she'd see that. But he's just a Red Herring to her, and it's so sad to see how she squanders a potentially great relationship in order to get back the boy who makes her weak at the knees, and yet seems to have no other good qualities. (OK, I'm not a Robbie fan. Is it obvious?)

OK, now that that's out of my system: this book is filled with hilariousity and fabulousity. Libby is such a hilarious character. She really is quite mad. Like whenever Georgia tells her not to do something, usually to prevent poo from getting everywhere, Libby just says "shh, bad boy!". And how she can like suck on Angus' nose, when he'll attack anyone else who touches him.

Also: Sven. I want more Sven in these books. Is it just me, or did he switch from Danish to Swedish since the first book? Maybe Georgia just doesn't understand northern European geoggers.

4 stars.

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

Title: Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #1)
Author: Louise Rennison
Publication Date: 1999
Length: 247 pages

This is the first book in a series that takes the form of Georgia Nicolson's diaries. Georgia's a fairly typical teenage girl in that she's rather ridiculous, and often a dreadfully selfish person without even realising it.Yet Georgia and her friends manage to be delightful and hilarious to read about.

In this first installment, Georgia learns to kiss from a boy who gives lessons after school, becomes infatuated with Robbie (the Sex God), spends a lot of time trying to flatten her fringe, improve her complexion, and fit a yoga routine into her busy schedule, and worries that her mother might be having a passionate affair with the man who's decorating their living room. Meanwhile, her best friend Jas is falling for Robbie's younger brother Tom, her little sister Libby (who is quite mad) is always hitting people and saying "bad boy!", and her cat is terrorising the neighbour's poodle.

But it's not just the plot that makes this book so brilliant, it's the writing. Even when Georgia's talking about totally mundane aspects of her life, she's just SO FUNNY while doing it! I don't know how Louise Rennison writes so perfectly from the point of view of a teenager.

I maintain the 5 star rating I gave this book when I first read it back in high school.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

Title: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publication Date: June 1, 2009
Length: 178 pages

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is an interesting sort of spin-off. It takes a minor character from Eclipse, a young vampire named Bree, and shows us her side of the story. She's part of an army of newborn vampires being raised to attack the Cullens. The vampires in this army are pretty clueless, since they've been lied to their whole (second) lives about both basic facts about vampires (they're told that they'll die if they go out in the sun, so that they're kept under control), and about the Cullens (they're told that this battle will be an easy victory for the army). Bree and Diego start to see through these lies, but not soon enough to save them.

I wish I'd read this right after reading the Twilight Saga. I found that I couldn't remember any details about Bree or the battle, which would have helped my appreciation of this story. That said, I still really enjoyed it. In general I like stories that show events from a different perspective, especially when they give the reader a whole new outlook on who the "bad guys" are in a story.

Also, Freaky Fred. I love him. Best vampire special power ever: the ability to make people around you feel disgusted. You'd be surprised how useful that can be, as Fred demonstrates in this book. He's definitely my favourite character here.

4 stars.

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Title: Go Ask Alice
Author: Anonymous [Beatrice Sparks]
Publication Date: 1971
Length: 185 pages

Go Ask Alice is written in the form of a diary of a high school girl named Alice, as she starts using drugs and gets sucked into that world. It's a very disturbing story, detailing her many attempts to stop, and the ways in which she's pulled back in, as well as the horrible things that happen to her when she's on drugs.

A lot of the time I was just so mad at Alice's "friends". If only they'd supported her when she was trying to quit, things would have gone so much better for her, I'm sure. But mostly I was just really sad for Alice. She makes poor decisions, but seems to be a good person, and several of the bad things that happen to her are a result of things that are done to her without her knowledge, including her first exposure to drugs.

A bit of a spoiler here (but not much of one, since you know it can't end well for Alice, as this book was basically written as a "don't do drugs, kids!" cautionary tale), but the ending really ruined it for me. After going through so much, and finally making real progress and looking like everything's going to work out after all, Alice's death is just tacked on to the end of the story. I feel like this was really just a cop out, because apparently it wouldn't be enough of a cautionary tale if things ended happily. I feel like that downplays the horrible events of Alice's life during her drug addiction. A lot of teenagers would still be convinced not to try drugs just from that; it just wasn't necessary to kill Alice off in a "well she did drugs so obviously that leads to INEVITABLE DEATH" kind of way.

But ignoring that tiny epilogue, this book is a powerful and sad story that I do recommend.

4 stars.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Title: Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3)
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publication Date: September 2010
Length: 390 pages

Warning: This is a review of the third and final book in this series, and will contain spoilers from the first two books.

Katniss, her family, and Gale are alive and in District 13. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol.  A revolution is taking place across Panem, and Katniss is expected to stand up and be the Mockingjay, the figurehead of the rebellion. I say figurehead and not leader, because really, the powerful people organising this rebellion just want Katniss to be their pawn, to inspire the people.

I don't quite understand the widespread love for this book. I loved the first two, and this one just didn't do a whole lot for me. I mean, there was some good action, and the story of the developing revolution is definitely interesting, but there were just too many things that bothered me.

First of all, let's talk about the romance. The reason I've never called myself Team Peeta or Team Gayle is because I could not possibly care less about either of those relationships. Both guys are good characters and important to the story throughout the series, but I just never got excited about the romance at all. As for how the books ends in that area, I just kind of shrugged.

Other quibbles: Her voice-activated bow. What's the deal? Her fancy arrows certainly came in handy, but what was special about that bow? Did she ever even use the voice activation? What purpose would that even serve? Also: I did not cry while reading this book. I cried in both of the other two. For whatever reason, the sad scenes in this book just didn't have the oomph that, for example, Rue's death had.

Then there was stuff near the end that I didn't even understand. Spoilers starting now...

When they have that vote for whether or not they'll host a Hunger Games with Capitol children, and Katniss votes yes. WTF is that? When did Katniss become a horrible person? I understand wanting to kill Snow, but innocent children? That is so messed up, no matter what she's been through.

I don't know, maybe I just read this book at the wrong time, and wasn't in the mood for it or something. Everyone else who loves the earlier books seems to love this one, too. I'll definitely give the series another go some time and see if my opinion of its ending changes.

3 stars.

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Title: The Testing
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Publication Date: June 4, 2013 (today!)
Length: 336 pages

Being chosen for The Testing is the highest honour for new graduates. The Testing will decide who will go on to the University, to become the next generation of leaders, who will work to restore the earth and society in the aftermath of devastating world wars. Cia has looked forward to this opportunity her whole life, but the night before she is to leave for the Testing, her father tells her about the nightmares he's had since they wiped the memories of the Testing from his mind. Suddenly, Cia's mind is filled with questions. What happens to the candidates who don't pass the Testing? Why are memories of the Testing wiped at the end? Who can be trusted?

Normally when I hear that a book is recommended for fans of *insert popular series here*, I end up disappointed. Not the case here! This book is recommended for fans of the Hunger Games, and as a Hunger Games fan, I heartily agree. While I've seen some reviews saying that this story is too similar to that of the Hunger Games, I found that, while the setting was similar, the idea was really original.

The idea of choosing a country's future leaders by putting them through intense physical, mental, and emotional testing is really fascinating. This is definitely a dystopia, with a government that callously watches as people die. Yet you can still see how the Testing could have been a good idea (if it wasn't done in such a horrifying way), giving the whole thing a certain realistic feel.

The writing is excellent as well. I was sucked right in, and flew through this book. I can't wait for the rest of the series, and I've already downloaded the free prequel ebook.

5 stars.

Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Uglies: Cutters by Scott Westerfeld

Title: Uglies: Cutters
Author: Scott Westerfeld and Devin Grayson
Illustrator: Steven Cummings
Publication Date: 2012
Length: 176 pages

Uglies: Cutters is a graphic novel retelling of Pretties by Scott Westerfeld, from Shay's perspective. It's the sequel to Uglies: Shay's Story. Shay's story in Pretties basically consists of her rejoining the Crims, and starting up the Cutters, a group of Pretties who cut themselves in order to achieve the mental clarity that's so difficult for Pretties to reach.

I pretty much had the same issues with this book as I did with Uglies: Shay's Story. Basically, all the people look the same, which is a particularly big problem in a book like this, where looks are very important to the characters.

Also, Tally really did all the interesting stuff in this part of the story. So watching Shay is not really that great. She doesn't know what's going on with Tally most of the time, so we just catch glimpses of that stuff, and meanwhile, Shay just goes about her business, doing stuff with the Crims, etc. So it's not as good a story as Pretties is.

2 stars.

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Title: The Archived (The Archived #1)
Author: Victoria Schwab
Publication Date: January 22, 2013
Length: 336 pages

I reviewed the sneak peek of this book back in January, so you can read about the premise of the book, and how I liked the beginning, over there.

Basically, it continued on being awesome when I finally got the full book. The twists and turns were wonderful; I never saw them coming, and I was always surprised (in a good way) by who was a good guy and who was a bad guy, and every other revelation that was thrown at me.

I was shipping Mackenzie and Wesley right from the start, and the interactions between them were some of my favourite parts of the book. I did not much care for the other boy who comes along in the middle of the book, but he was definitely an interesting story line.

I'm not doing it justice, but this was really a fantastic book. I couldn't put it down, and I can't wait for more in this series!

5 stars.