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Showing posts with label XVI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label XVI. Show all posts

Saturday, 1 October 2011

Wrap Up- September

Welcome everyone to my September Wrap Up post. This will be a new type of post that I will be doing in the end of every month to summarize all the books that I read in the month and give a few thoughts on them. I know that Misty at the Book Rat and Carla at the Library Mosaic also do something similar to this. So go and check them out!
Now to make this a little more creative and give it my own touch. I'm going to have book battles. So basically If I read more than one book in a certain genre I will put them up against each other and may the best book win!! I will also have a favourites section.
So I hope you enjoy this!

To start off, September has been a bit of a slow month for me with school starting and all. But I have still managed to read some great books! If you would like to see my review of the books, there will be a link on the title of each book.

Books Read In September:
Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy: The Graphic Novel, #1)
Chain Reaction - Simone Elkeles (Amazon/Goodreads)
XVI - Julia Karr (Amazon/Goodreads)
Where She Went - Gayle Forman (Amazon/ Goodreads)
Moonglass - Jessi Kirby (Amazon/Goodreads)
Bloodlines - Richelle Mead (Amazon/Goodreads)
Blood Red Road - Moira young (Amazon/Goodreads)
Vampire Academy Graphic Novel - Richelle Mead, Leigh Dragoon, Emma Vieceli (Amazon/Goodreads)

Book Battle:

Contemporary Realistic Fiction: 
Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry, #3)VS.Where She Went (If I Stay, #2)VS.Moonglass
WINNER: Chain Reaction
Alright, so this was one of the hardest pair-ups especially because I completely love all three of these books. How could someone not love Chain Reaction. Especially with not one but three gorgeous Fuentes brothers! The whole Perfect Chemistry Trilogy has become one of my all time favourites. But Where She Went and Moonglass were not far behind as they were both fantastic. These two were more focused on grief, life and death with some romance. After reading them Gayle Forman has become one of my favourite authors while Jessi Kirby's debut novel has me waiting for more amazing things from her!

Dystopian Fiction:
XVI (XVI, #1)VS.Blood Red Road (Dustlands, #1)
WINNER: Blood Red Road
Both these books were amazing! As with many others the dystopian genre is quickly becoming my favourite. Somethings that I loved about both of these books was the very intricate world and society that they authors created. In XVI, it was a society that is basically being ruled by media while in Blood Red Road its pretty much post-apocalyptic setting in which the world has turned into a desert and what's left of the people have either ran to isolation or become addicts and crooks. Although I enjoyed both books emensly. There was just something special about Blood Red Road. The main character was strong, world was amazing and not to mention the plot!

Favourites:

Book Title: Moonglass. I really like this title not just because its unique but also because it has a lot to do with the book. It actually tells us a lot about the book which I look for in a title. 

Book Cover: This one was another hard choice as I am a total cover fanatic! But their has to be a favourite and for this month it is Blood Red Road also because the cover tells a lot about the book. You really see the how world looks in the book through the cover and I really like that.

Female Character: My favourite female character will have to go to Blood Red Road. I found Saba to be very strong both physically and mentally. I like how she developed as a character as well. She really reminds me of Katniss from the Hunger Games.

Male Character: My favourite male character is Adam from Where She Went. Gosh, did I love Adam or what! He was just amazing, mind blowing etc etc. I am so glad Gayle Forman decided to write Where She Went in Adams point of view. It really brought the story to life! Adam was such a real, and sweet character. I felt for him and understood him to a point that I was starting to reflect his feeling. 

Side Character: This one is definitely Alex and Carlos in Chain Reaction. I love both of these guys unconditionally and I devoured their books. So I was really happy to get to read about them again in Chain Reaction. I loved the brother moments and the little looks we got of their lives after Perfect Chemsitry and Rules of Attraction. I think it just made the book and them even more memorable! Oh and the amazing dialogue from both of them was just priceless

Plot: Bloodlines! I love Richelle Meads books and her plots are amazing. They always keep you guessing and biting your nails wondering whats going to happen. Bloodlines was nothing less, it was full of twist and turns and plain awesomeness in every corner! Not to mention the crazy cliffhanger!

Ending: This one also has to go to Chain Reaction. The ending was just phenomenal as expected from Simone Elkeles. I'm really happy with how Chain Reaction brought a fantastic end deserving of such a wonderful series!

Quotes:

Chain Reaction:
“Alex and Carlos—the tag team from hell. They’re the last people I need shit from right now. If they decide to trail me, too, I’ll have an entire entourage.  
“I’m fine.”  
“Then sit up and talk to us.”  
“Okay, in that case I’m not fine. Go away.” I moan. “Unless you want me to puke all over you.” - Luis
XVI:
-"This moment of silence has been brought to you by the Resistance. In quietness, people can think for themselves." - Resistance

Where She Went:
- "You don't share me. You own me." - Adam 
- "Hate me.
Devaste me.
Annihilate me.
Re-create me.
Re-create me.
Won't you, won't you re-create me." - Collateral Damage 
- "But I'd do it again. I know that now. I'd make that promise a thousand times over and lose her a thousand times over to have heard her play last night or to see her in the morning sunlight. Or even without that. Just to know that she's somewhere out there. Alive.” - Adam
Moonglass:
“I read once that water is a symbol for emotions. And for a while now I've thought maybe my mother drowned in both.” - Anna
Bloodlines:
“Yeah? Can you draw a skeleton riding a motorcycle with flames coming out of it? And I want a pirate hat on the skeleton. And a parrot on his shoulder. A skeleton parrot. Or maybe a ninja skeleton parrot? No, that would be overkill. But it'd be cool if the biker skeleton could be shooting some ninja throwing stars. That are on fire.” - Adrian  
“My God, Sage. Your eyes. How have I never noticed them?" That uncomfortable feeling was spreading over me again. "What about them?" "The color," he breathed. "When you stand in the light. They're amazing... like molten gold. I could paint those..." He reached toward me but then pulled back. "They're beautiful. You're beautiful.” - Adrian 
-“Mmm. O positive, my favorite.”
“Is it? I thought it was a cabernet sauvignon.”
“So it is,” said Adrian, straight-faced. “My mistake.”  - Adrian
“Is it? I thought it was a cabernet sauvignon.” “So it is,” said Adrian, straight-faced. “My mistake.”  - Adrian
Blood Red Road:
“Yer in my blood, Saba, he says. Yer in my head. Yer in my breath, yer in my bones...gawd help me, yer everywhere. You have bin since the first moment I set eyes on you.” 
So whats you thoughts? What did you read this month?


Friday, 9 September 2011

Book Review: XVI

XVI (XVI, #1)
Release Date: January 6, 2011
Publisher: Speak
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 325
Buy the Book: Amazon
Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world-even the most predatory of men-that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear. That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past-one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer.
Summary is taken from the XVI, Goodreads page.

My Review:

To begin, I have to say that I was a little bit hesitant on reading XVI and I don't see why because the book was just wonderful! Julia Karr is a great writer. In XVI, she created a whole knew dystopian world filled with gadgets and uber vocabulary!

XVI is set in Chicago, in the year 2150. In this futuristic world, the government as we know it has been brought down and know the society is run by a Governing Counsel. The GC is pretty much your typical dystopian government. They are very secretive and manipulative. In this case their main way of manipulating the citizens is through media. In the novel when a girl turns sixteen she get the XVI tattoo indicating that she is legal to have sex.

I really liked the world Julia Karr created. The book had a very interesting and intriguing plot. The characters were well developed and realistic. Our main character Nina I thought was very strong-willed and respectable. I liked that in a society where teenage girls were all considered as sex crazed she stood on the contrary because she knew herself and understood that she wasn't ready yet.

The other characters such as Sal, Wei, Mike, Sandy and Derek were also great characters. I sympathized for Sandy because I believe that although she acted like what Julia Karr referred to as a "sex-teen". She didn't really know better as her mother was encouraging her to be that way and pretty much her whole society agreed with what the media was saying. I mean they even taught it at school. Sal on the other hand I thought was a pretty likable character. I found him to be more of the typical love interest but still pretty fun to read about. As for the rest of the characters I really liked them too. I enjoyed reading about their different backgrounds and I wish we got more of that. Also, the main antagonist in this story is Ed. Who is Nina's mothers boyfriend and her little sisters biological father. Ed I thought was also a very typical type character. In this case he was the typical evil bad guy. But still I think it worked for the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I liked the characters, the plot was great and very engaging. One thing I wish there was more of was a more thorough back story as to how this dystopian society came to be. And what was the reason to cause the government to treat young girls this way. But there is a second book to this one so hopefully the questions that are left unanswered here may be answered in the next book. Anyways, as I said before XVI is a great book and I recommend it to those who enjoy dystopian literature.

Here is more on the sequel, Truth:
Truth (XVI, #2)
Truth- Julia Karr
Release Date: January 19, 2012
Publisher: Speak
Age Group: Young Adult
Nina Oberon’s life has changed enormously in the last few months. When her mother was killed, Nina discovered the truth about her father, the leader of the Resistance. And now she sports the same Governing Council–ordered tattoo of XVI on her wrist that all sixteen-year-old girls have. The one that announces to the world that she is easy prey to predators. But Nina won’t be anyone’s stereotype. And when she joins an organization of girls working within the Resistance, she knows that they can put an end to one of the most terrifying secret programs the GC has ever conceived. Because the truth always comes out...and the consequences can be deadly.
Summary taken from the Truth, Goodreads page.


Tuesday, 6 September 2011

Teaser Tuesdays (2)


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

        • Grab your current read
        • Open to a random page
        • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
        • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
        • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

XVI (XVI, #1)My Teasers:

"This moment of silence has been brought to you by the Resistance. In quietness, people can think for themselves"
 Page 8. XVI- Julia Karr

Sunday, 4 September 2011

In My Mailbox

Welcome to my very first IMM!
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

This week I got:
XVI- Julia Karr
Where She Went- Gayle Forman
Chain Reaction- Simone Elkeles

XVI (XVI, #1)Where She Went (If I Stay, #2)Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry, #3)
Super excited to finally read these books! Watch out for next weeks IMM :)


SO, WHAT DID YOU GET IN YOUR MAILBOX THIS WEEK?
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