Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

First Line: "The decision to make hellhounds an endangered species was beyond asinine, but I expected nothing less from a government that had bankrolled not one, but two, endowed chairs in preternatural biology (one of them my father's) at the University That Shall Not Be Named."

Plot: "Every other day, Kali D’Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She argues with her father. She’s human. And then every day in between . . . she’s something else entirely. Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism. When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her, and unfortunately she’ll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive . . . and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process." - from GoodReads

Comments: The concept was interesting but the characters weren't very well-formed, I felt. They didn't have a lot of depth to them, just a few characteristics that remained the same all the way through. And Kali was not particularly likable.

The plot was a great idea, but the characters and the unrealistic results kind of ruined it for me. I won't be reading the rest of the books.

Sorry for the very short review. I'm trying to recall my opinions from reading this months ago. I just remember that overall I didn't really like any characters and the plot didn't make up for that fact.

Rating: I rate Every Other Day a six out of ten.

Pure by Julianna Baggott

Book one of the Pure Trilogy.

First Line: "Pressia is lying in the cabinet."

Plot: Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the lucky escaped the disaster within their high-technology, protective Dome while the unlucky survived but remain on the outside in the desolation of the aftermath. Outsider Pressia knows how to make it in the world where you can't trust anyone, the world where everyone has some disability marking their status as an unlucky survivor. She lives with the sinister silence of the Dome mocking her. Insider Partridge, on the other hand, knows nothing about the outside world but wants to. Their choices lead them to uncover truths about their pasts and what the world has come to.

Comments: The story in Pure by Julianna Baggott is about fairness and discovering who you are. The characters fight to survive in a world where everyone is their enemy, surrounded by inequality and unfair circumstances. The story relates to my life because throughout the story the characters are learning about themselves – what they’re willing to do for the greater good or the ones they love and what they aren’t willing to do – something everyone goes through. People are sometimes surprised by their own actions. I can see this in the story.

Pure shows a sharp contrast between the lives of the people outside the Dome and lives of the people inside. Outside is desolation and ruin, warped and twisted bodies, and an atmosphere of constant fear and kill-or-be-killed. Inside is organization and cleanliness, impossibly perfect and healthy bodies, and ignorance – and where there is not ignorance, there is a sense of superiority. This clear divide between social levels is inaccurate in depicting the real world. It’s true that there are different groups within the two classes: militia members and citizens outside, students and super-soldiers inside. But even so, I disagree with the simplified idea of good and bad, black and white, and right and wrong. Characters Lyda and Partridge are examples of the gray that is so present in real society because they come from the privileged and sinister Dome but care about what’d going on outside. It’s possible that the sharp contrasts in this story were exaggerated purposefully for simplicity, but it doesn’t make sense to me that anything can be so decisively divided when it comes to humans.

The story was heavy on the ideas of family, the bonds between family members, and finding out where you come from and how that affects who you are. But I think there was too much emphasize on this. The idea of family was romanticized in this story in a way that made it feel unrealistic. Main character Pressia and Partridge shared some kind of bond because they shared the same mother, while in reality being related to someone means absolutely nothing beyond genetics and legalities. Neither really knew their mother but both were obsessed with the idea of finding her. This is more easily understandable, but the strength of their bond with her seemed incongruent with how much they actually knew about her. The story didn’t match up with my views on family.

I did like that the story casually included characters of different races. By this I mean that some characters were not white (Pressia was Japanese) but their non-Caucasian backgrounds were not stressed dramatically. Race wasn’t a big deal in the story but different races were present. That’s important in today’s society because characters should represent all different nationalities but shouldn’t necessarily make a big deal of the fact that they’re different.

Pressia felt like a recycled character in this story. I do appreciate the strong female lead, but she felt like a mix of Katniss Everdeen and a handful of other fantasy female teenagers. Strong, yes – brazenly so, always ready to prove her merit and toughness. Stubborn, willful, and not willing to open up initially. But as the story goes on, she softens and starts becoming protective of other people and the readers can see that she’s just a really cool person over all. Pressia seemed modeled after what’s becoming a generic “strong” female lead and I didn’t care for her because she didn’t feel like her own person.

The story left many questions unanswered. For one, the big picture of the dystopian world was never explained. The plot only covered a small area, so what about the rest of the world? It’s true that in the post apocalyptic world, communication between cities would be nearly nonexistent. However, the characters don’t seem to think much beyond their own little worlds. Nothing much was said about the organization in the Dome either – I got the sense that it was supposed to be much bigger than what we actually saw from Partridge’s perspective.

Overall, the story was confusing. I felt many details were unclear, like the situation with the militia being different from whomever the Dome sends out. I was never sure who was affiliated with whom or what was really going on. Maybe this was meant to show the uncertainty of the characters’ world, but regardless it made the story hard to follow. In addition, the ending felt predictable and forced. I am not at all interested in reading the sequels to this book because I didn't enjoy any of the characters and the ending was disappointingly predictable.

Rating: I rate Pure a six out of ten. 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

First Line: "So in order to understand everything that happened, you have to start from the premise that high school sucks."

Plot: Greg Gaines is a chubby, awkward teenager who has perfected the delicate art of being friends with everyone and no one at the same time. He spends his time making mediocre films with the cussing, perpetually angry teen Earl. Things are okay. But then Greg's mom forces him to become friends with a girl who has cancer and his life begins to fall apart.

Comments: I skimmed over a lot of the text. There seemed to be descriptions and sections that lasted too long and I would skip to the next part. What I did read was vaguely entertaining but not dramatically so. The book definitely felt like it was written by a teenager who doesn't know how to write.

I didn't ever connect much with any of the characters. They were all so very flawed that liking them was difficult. Their situations were easier to relate to, perhaps. But the people in the story felt like characters as opposed to real people.

The idea of the book is great. It's not some inspiring, heroic tale of cancer-fighting teenagers who support each other and fix everything. It's about an overweight, awkward, antisocial guy who finds himself stuck with trying to be a good friend to a girl dying of cancer. The story is different and feels real because of the flawed characters and the awkward dialogue.

However, it's a little boring. Because it's a pretty realistic story, nothing exciting really happens and the characters don't do things that make you feel happy inside. This is partly why I kept skimming. I was waiting for something exciting to happen but it never really did.

Nothing was resolved in the end, but in this case it seemed fitting. It made sense because experiences like this in real life don't resolve smoothly and happily and with a clear lesson learned. So while the book ends without a satisfying conclusion, it ends realistically, which is satisfying by itself since so many books have ridiculous fairytale endings.

Rating: I rate Me and Earl and the Dying Girl a six out of ten.

Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

Plot: "Marcie has been dragged away from home for the summer - from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She's left behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father. By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "summer vacation" has become permanent. She has to start at a new school, and there she leaves behind her Leftover status when a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up. But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? Can you even know it until you've lost it? Love & Leftovers is a beautifully written story of one girl's journey navigating family, friends, and love, and a compelling and sexy read that teens will gobble up whole." - Inside book jacket.

Comments: I was skeptical about the way in which this book is written - as a series of poems by Marcie - but I did end up enjoying this different way of telling a story. I liked hearing the story from Marcie's point of view and through the creative medium of free verse poetry.

I didn't actually enjoy Marcie very much, though. All she really wanted was to fall in love (she actually says: "My wish is to fall cranium over Converse in dizzy daydream-worthy love."). This might be accurate for some teenage girls, but I didn't think she had much depth to her character. Romance was all she cared about, and that was annoying. There are other priorities in life, too, you know! I don't know if the author, Tregay, did this on purpose to create one specific character or if she just figured this is how teenage girls in general think and act.

Because Marcie was so desperate to be loved (and, for some reason, get somewhere physically), she cheated on her boyfriend. I didn't like that. I couldn't relate to her actions or her justification for what she did. 

The ending felt unrealistic, too. Everything turned out just fine in the end and it didn't feel right. Overall, the story was interesting - actually, I read the whole thing in one uninterrupted go of a few hours - but lacked empathetic characters and a sense of reality. Any characters who weren't the main focus weren't described well and felt like cardboard cutouts just filling in space for the needed role.

Rating: I rate Love and Leftovers a six out of ten.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

First Line: "One summer night I fell asleep, hoping the world would be different when I woke."

Plot: Aristotle is an angry Hispanic teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all boy who looks at the world in an unusual way. Neither has any friends, so the two boys gravitate towards each other and create a friendship over a single summer that lasts a lifetime. Through their bond, they learn truths about themselves and the rest of the world.

Comments: I skimmed through the entirety of this book. I really did enjoy the story and wanted to know what would happen next, but often there would be long tangents or abstract internal monologues that wouldn't be interesting at all. The dialogue often didn't seem natural - it felt forced and strange.

I also didn't connect very well with the main characters. Aristotle was a very quiet, unreadable person even though the story was from his perspective. Now, that was part of who he was, but that made it difficult to relate to him because I never knew what he felt. He was a blank wall. On the other hand, Dante was sporadic and unpredictable, and so I also didn't relate to him very well because I never knew what he was feeling either.

The whole story unfolded quietly, without much drama, which was both relaxing and slightly boring at the same time. I enjoyed the ending and the resolution, but all the steps to get there didn't always seem to make much sense.

Rating: I rate this book a six out of ten.

The Obsidian Blade by Pete Hautman

Plot: Tucker's family began unraveling ever since he first saw the disk. His father, the Reverend Adrian Feye, lost his faith, and his mother lost her mind. When both Tucker's parents disappear one day, Tucker knows it has something to do with the disks. He discovers the secret of the disks and embarks on a whirlwind journey to save his parents.

Comments: I think The Obsidian Blade is meant for younger audiences, maybe pre-teens. If not, then it's a much too easy read. The language is very simple and the writing is not very exciting. Nothing felt believable, especially the characters' reactions to the situations. The main character, Tucker, was not easily likable because he didn't feel like a real person. It was the same for everyone else. The writing constantly told instead of showed, having to explain in small words what was happening. It was frankly not very interesting.

The concept of the story was intriguing. A great idea for a fantasy novel, with so many possibilities. But the story was confusing. Tucker never knew what was going on and neither did I - which is okay in some situations, with suspense, but nothing was ever resolved in this book. The whole thing was setting the stage for a sequel (or several), rather than standing alone as its own exciting story with a follow-up. And because of the simplistic style of writing, there was no suspense or shock - or really any other dramatic emotions - and so I'm not at all interested in reading more of this story. Perhaps a younger reader would enjoy this book more than I did. Or any other reader, I don't know.

Rating: I rate The Obsidian Blade a six out of ten. It was a good idea for a story but not written to be very gripping.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Plot: Jasper "Jazz" Dent grew up under the tutelage of his father Billy Dent, an infamous serial killer. Billy taught Jazz how to maintain a normal facade as well as tricks of the killing trade for avoiding capture. When Jazz was thirteen, Billy was finally caught and imprisoned after murdering more than one hundred people, and for four years Jazz struggled to live a normal teenage life. But Billy's voice always echoed in Jazz's head. When a body is discovered in Jazz's hometown, the 17-year-old is convinced it's a new serial killer. Jazz sets out to hunt down the killer, hoping to prove to everyone - and to himself - that he is not like his father.

Comments: First of all, I Hunt Killers was creepy. I must admit that I'm easily frightened, but the graphic descriptions of the victims in this book are freaky. This story delves deep into the minds of serial killers, which I think is enough to make anyone paranoid and a little disturbed. In addition, the constant struggle in Jazz's head between normal teenager and raised-to-be-a-serial-killer is also incredibly perturbing.

Despite that, it was a well-written, suspenseful novel. As before mentioned, the descriptions were startlingly vivid. Jazz's suspicion of pretty much everyone is contagious, so you don't trust anyone. It was definitely a good murder mystery.

I really didn't like Jazz. I think you're supposed to, but I didn't like him. Though he tried to tell himself that he wasn't like his father, he always had urges to kill people, which was creepy. Maybe that's not his fault, but it still was unsettling. Furthermore, Jazz never stopped manipulating the people around him. That's all he ever did - twist their feelings with his smooth talking. Worse, he didn't seem to think that that was wrong or a big deal. I really disliked that part of him, that he would think so little of the people around him that he wouldn't think twice about making them do what he wanted. He took pride in his ability to bend them to his will. It disgusted me.

I think some loose ends tied up too neatly in this story. Everything ended easily. A few openings suggest a sequel, but for the most part the ending was generic and rather predictable. Unrealistic in its simplicity and smoothness. And Jazz continues to display his overconfidence and pride up to the final page.

Rating: I rate this a six out of ten. Jazz wasn't a very enjoyable character and the plot itself was just creepy.

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

Plot: Follow amibitious Estaban Trueba's journey from young adulthood to grandfatherhood, Clairvoyant Clara's life living with unseen spirits, and young Alba's battle against tyranny and tradition. This is a magical realism story about three generations of a closely connected family living in cycles of sexism toward women and set roles for social classes.

Comments: I analyzed this book for a class, which tends to lessen my enjoyment of the book. However, I think that without the requirement for the class I would not have finished the book at all. The House of the Spirits is Isabel Allende's first book and displays her style of magical realism, where magic is entwined with reality in subtle, almost believable ways. Personally, magical realism is not my favorite genre.

Esteban was an enormously sexist character, as well as believing strongly that the lower class citizens should stay in their inferior place. Despite all that made me despise him in the beginning of the book, I grew to sort of like his character at the very end. I did feel guilty for forgiving him of his horrible acts against women. There's an emphasis on abuse of women physically, mentally, and socially in The House of the Spirits, which I believe is meant to advocate equality.

I didn't connect with many characters for very long, which translated into a lack of empathy. The story didn't interest me very much. The political unrest didn't seize my attention and neither did the hidden messages in every action, word, and symbol. It was a good storyline, but I wasn't very impressed with the book.

Rating: I rate this book a six out of ten. It wasn't a great book.

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Plot: The first book in the popular series A Song of Ice and Fire, this novel encompasses many complex stories and perspectives woven together in a history of a conflicted world. A Game of Thrones is written with dramatic themes such as war, betrayal, and scandal.

Comments: I'd been given a multitude of recommendations to read A Game of Thrones by the time I finally acquired a copy. Initially, I was unimpressed with the book. The plot felt slow-moving and not entirely interesting, and the characters were introduced too quickly to really connect with, among other issues. I grew to appreciate the story more as I continued to read, but I never loved the book.

One thing I really disliked about A Game of Thrones is the total sexism against women. The book is set in a time of knights, maidens, and tradition; Martin may be modeling the setting after a period of time in Earth's history, complete with gender inequality. However, I don't understand why it's necessary to include the sexism. Women in this book rarely had any power and were for the most part not taken seriously. It chafed me every time a man made a sexist comment or a woman obeyed a man without question. Of course there were also the many prostitutes. Why the sexism?

Another problem I had with this book was the overwhelming barrage of names. There are seemingly hundreds of characters, each with three variations of their name (first name only, last name, title). Minor characters were often not introduced, yet the reader was apparently expected to memorize their names for further reference. The names of places were the same way. There were just too many names and complicated relationships. It really took away from my enjoyment of the story.

The story was extremely complex and unpredictable, which was one of the best parts of the book. I never knew what was going to happen next. In addition, there were several characters whom I grew to enjoy reading about: Tyrion, for example, added hilariously sarcastic wit to the dramatic, tense atmosphere. The many different perspectives from all sides of the conflicts made for an interesting compiled read.

Rating: I rate this book a six out of ten. While the plot is interesting in its compexity and twists, the confusion from the names and the annoyance from the sexism caused me to overall not enjoy A Game of Thrones very much. 

Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper

Plot: Gwen Cooper adopts an eyeless kitten she names Homer, and his determination to live life spectacularly changes her own life forever.

Comments: While this was a cute story about an inspiring cat, before I started reading I didn't realize how much of an autobiography Homer's Odyssey really is. I liked reading about Homer's shenanigans and various mischiefs. He was endearingly high maintenance. However, the autobiographical elements in the story were somewhat less than captivating. Oftentimes I skipped whole paragraphs of the author pondering the meaning of life. Frankly, her abstract musings bored me and had no place in a story supposedly about an inspiring cat.

It's true that Gwen Cooper's firsthand perspective of the terrorist attack on September 11th was intriguing. Yet I maintain that, having believed the book to be centered upon the cat Homer before I began reading, the life of the author was not terribly interesting to me. Homer's story was, nevertheless, uplifting.

Rating: I rate Homer's Odyssey a six out of ten.

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

The books in the Inheritance Cycle series are Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance.

Plot: A teenage boy named Eragon struggles to stay alive in a dangerous world with his young dragon Saphira. As the only surviving dragon Rider, this inexperienced boy faces deadly challenges and terrible enemies. Together with his beloved Saphira, Eragon meets dwarves, elves, and the Varden, an army dedicated to overthrowing the tyrant King Galbatorix. Fighting against all the odds, Eragon and Saphira continue down a treacherous road ultimately leading toward the impossibly powerful king.

Comments: The story weaved through the pages of these four fat books is incredibly complex and captivating. Each character breathes with such convincing life that you may lose yourself in their world, caught in the elaborate web of stories. There is fast-paced, heart-pounding action as well as poignant moments of love and loss. Many realities are entwined with the fictional events, and lessons are taught surreptitiously.

However, the complexity of these books works against the overall enjoyment as well. The sheer enormity of subplots and characters and places overwhelms the reader. The words in the ancient language, used in magic, are nigh impossible to pronounce and therefore must be skipped over when reading. Similarly, the names of places and characters contain too many apostrophes and other symbols to be easily understood. This is very annoying. On several occasions seemingly random events occurred which left me confused and wondering at the significance. These books were complicated to an extreme. I found myself ignoring most descriptions of battles and inventions simply because I could not follow what the author meant.

I loved the story in these books. That Eragon was not perfect helped me appreciate the story even more, though I still felt he was becoming a god far above anyone else. After a while, I learned to enjoy the story and ignore the complicated details that only slowed down my reading and comprehension. Furthermore, the plot was fairly predictable in its largest elements and I did not feel emotionally attached to any of the characters. Finally, Paolini ended the series with about one hundred pages of wrapping up loose ends, an anticlimatic finish to a dramatic book. I was rather disappointed with the ending; it left me unsatisfied.

Overall, the Inheritance Cycle was a fair series of books, but perhaps too long and not enjoyable enough to be worth reading in its entirety.

Rating: I rate the Inheritance Cycle a six out of ten.