Irish Girl Reads: young adult reviews

Showing posts with label young adult reviews. Show all posts

Saturday, March 24, 2012

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins {Review}

The Hunger Games
{ The Hunger Games Series #1}
by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

First Line: When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.

My Review: It took me a long time to pick up this book because I just didn't think it was going to be my cup of tea. After reading it, I am going to stand by that statement BUT I did like it. It was a fast read and it held my attention ( although parts of it were predictable). When I read the last sentence it left me wanting to read the next book so I guess that means Suzanne Collins did her job. I am glad I stepped out of my normal comfort zone to try something new. With that said until I get my hands on the 2nd book in the series I NEED to pick up a romance book stat!! HA HA HA!
Hoping to see the movie soon, maybe that will help me connect a tad bit more with the characters and storyline.

My Rating:

Thursday, October 6, 2011

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard {Review}

The Lying Game

by Sara Shepard

Hardcover, 307 pages
Published December 7th, 2010 by HarperTeen

I had a life anyone would kill for.

Then someone did.

The worst part of being dead is that there’s nothing left to live for. No more kisses. No more secrets. No more gossip. It’s enough to kill a girl all over again. But I’m about to get something no one else does—an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.

Now Emma’s desperate to know what happened to me. And the only way to figure it out is to be me—to slip into my old life and piece it all together. But can she laugh at inside jokes with my best friends? Convince my boyfriend she’s the girl he fell in love with? Pretend to be a happy, carefree daughter when she hugs my parents good night? And can she keep up the charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her every move?

First Line:
"I woke up in a dingy claw-foot bathtub in an unfamiliar pink-tiled bathroom"

My Review:
I am going to start out by saying that this is one of the best young adult books that I have read in a long time. Sara Shepard really knows how to keep you intrigued, so you keep on reading. The Lying Game had just enough suspense to keep you coming back for more.

As the book opens you find out that Sutton Mercer is dead, and her long lost twin sister is forced to take her place. Sara Shepard did great in forming the personalities of these twins. Sutton is your privileged teen, who gets whatever she wants. Emma is the twin who has to work hard for the things she has earned. Plucking Emma out of her nothing but hard life and sending her into a world she knows nothing about is quite humorous and cringe worthy at the same time. Sara Shepard gave many twists and turns to keep you guessing. Even if you had an answer and you thought you were correct, Shepard would slide in some more information to keep you second guessing yourself.

I love mystery books in a series, because of how they end. It is like having a cliff hanger at the end of a season finale. Luckily for me I just have to go pick up the next book in order to keep going.

My Rating:

Until next time... Happy Reading!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Abandon by Meg Cabot {Review}

I am proud to present my first review on Crazy Book Slut for all our readers!

Abandon

by Meg Cabot

Scholastic Inc., 320 pages, published April 26, 2011

New from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a dark, fantastical story about this world . . . and the underworld.
Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.
But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.
Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.
But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

My Review

Meg Cabot is one of my favorite authors and I was excited to read a book that isn’t typical Meg Cabot. I don’t want hate mail, but I was skeptical thinking she got on the Twilightesque band wagon of vampires and werewolves. We have enough of those authors right?

What I loved about this book was the Greek mythology background and tying it into the real world. I fell in love with Pierce right away. She is awkward when it comes to social situations, but still puts the lives of others and well animals first. John, who I have to say is the opposite of Edward Cullen, has that bad boy persona down. He is bad ass, but also has that passion for the one he loves. That to me makes him one of the sexiest characters in the book world.

Meg Cabot kept me wanting more of the story only giving the background that was needed for that moment. Of course I kept reading because I just HAD to know more. At the end I was left bitter, because the story was over and I couldn’t go to the store and get the next installment. I guess I am stuck like everyone else waiting anxiously for Underworld to be on the shelves. Meg Cabot really left you wanting more and many important subtleties unanswered!

My Rating: