• 

Glow

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (September 13, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312590563
• ISBN-13: 978-0312590567

Belinda Says:

Cover

I was taken by the picture of the young lady’s profile over shadowed by stars on the cover. The image is certainly evocative.

Characters

The characters are strong and thought provoking.

Favourite

Waverly is hands down my favourite character. She has guts and a moral compass that cannot be interfered with.

Least Favourite

The populace of the New Horizon. Their actions, though desperate, are just awful.

Beginning

In the opening scene we meet Waverly and Kieran, as they are looking out a porthole at the New Horizon, a sister ship to their own. The ship has slowed down in the nebula and this has the pair confused and concerned. The other ship was supposed to be over a year ahead of their own, the Empyrean, on their journey to New Earth. Why did they slow down and what secrets lie onboard the other vessel?

Storyline

We go on to find the differences between the ships are vast and, as with most things, fear of the unknown leads to violence and betrayal. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, regardless of age or gender. What is it the crew aboard the New Horizon intends to do?

Ending

There isn’t too much I want to give away because I think this book is so good you must read it for yourself. I am haunted by the book; the first in the Sky Chasers series.

Thoughts

In fact I believe it should become compulsory reading instead of making high school students read Lord of the Flies. It is better balanced towards both genders and is far less repulsive.

The themes we’re dealing with here are more up to date, and both the boys and the girls are portrayed in a positive light; even in the moments when their actions aren’t so positive. There is an outstanding level of respect for the young characters. The girls have strength and brains. The boys aren’t mindless delinquents. They go through hell and come out of it with opinions of their own.

Glow hits all the right marks. It breaks through some serious barriers and makes me believe there is hope that finding well written science fiction books for a YA audience is still possible. They are no longer just exclusively for the nerds and geeks.

I have no idea what direction Amy will take Waverly and Kieran in the next installment in the Sky Chasers series; but if it gives me goose bumps like Glow did I will be over the moon.

Further Thoughts

I would seriously love to hear from any male readers of Glow. Did this book have you sitting up and taking notice? Did you feel like you could connect with Kieran or Seth? Did the portrayal of the male characters feel accurate? What if it was your sister or girlfriend in Waverly’s position; what lengths would you go to, to get her back safely?

Lisa Says:

Cover:

First looking at this cover, I had absolutely no clue what it was. I mean, yeah, I saw the girl, and the position she was in, but I didn’t really connect it with anything. Reading Glow, you don’t even have to read beyond the first three or four pages, and you already know what the cover represents. It’s Waverly! Her on her ship, the Empyrean!

After connecting the cover, with the story it contains, and keeps safe, I liked it a lot better

Characters-

First impressions aren’t everything! But they are a lot! When we first meet Waverly, she seem kind of, like a, uhmmm, let’s just say a jerk. Kieran, was just so cute and sweet, talking about their future and having kids. I know, they’re only teenagers, but still he was just being soo cute! And her response was just, mean, and harsh. She wasn’t even trying to be gentle with him, and that made up my mind; “I don’t like her.”

Favorite:

Okay, so after saying the above, Waverly is also my favorite character. Yeah, yeah. I was ranting why I don’t like her, but I also said first impressions aren’t everything! She grew so much throughout the story. She went from being a jerk and not knowing what she wants, to being a strong woman able to save the Empyrean, and wanting to be with Kieran.

Least Favorite:

Even though I started out loving Kieran, towards the end of the book, I just didn’t enjoy reading about him, as much. He was such a sweetie pie at the beginning of Glow, but towards the end he became a dictator. He was running things “his way”, instead of what was best for the Empyrean.

Beginning:

I went into reading Glow, a little hesitant. I usually don’t read books like this. So I had pretty high expectations, and within the first few pages, Glow had me wrapped around its little finger. I couldn’t stop listening ( I have it on audio book ) to it. I seriously put one disk in, and as soon it was done, I quickly took it out, and tossed the next one in until they were all gone!

Story Line:

Glow was definitely something I’ve never read before.

In Glow’s world, a ship named the Empyrean is out trying to find another way/place for the human population to survive, and live safely. After being attacked by the Empyrean’s sister ship, all the adults are killed, or hurt, and the girls (who are very vital, since their the only way to reproduce; which is a huge part of Glow!) are kidnapped. Kieran, the next in line to become the captain, takes the lead. Not only steering the ship, but also saving the girls, and any adults who survived.

Ending:

The ending was a bit of a cliff hanger, but not the bad kind. It was just leading us to the second book (which needs to hurry up, and come out, so I can start reading it!). The ending was kind of a twist, but in a way you could see it coming, just through Kieran’s actions.

Overall Thoughts:

LOOOVED IT! I usually don’t read books like Glow, about spaceships, the future, and what the human race would do if the world wasn’t inhabited-able anymore. Glow, changed my opinion, and blew my mind! I loved it, and can’t wait for the second book to hit the shelves!

Krista Says:

Cover

I am a fan of the US cover. I like that the O represents a window in a spaceship (also like a submarine) It’s very simple but very nice.

Characters

Favorite

The main character Waverly was admireable, she stands up for her beliefs and I liked that she fought back. I also found Anne Mathor very interesting as well, the evil that was shown through her really touches on some of the basic evils of humanity, religious zealots, sexual violence, drugs, and drive for procreation in an almost helpless situation.

Least Favorite

Keiran, although parts of this book are told from his perspective I had a harder time connecting to his part of the story, I just felt more drawn and intrigued to what was happening to Waverly.

Beginning

The story starts out with a lot of things happening, you get to just barely be introduced to the characters when their ship is boarded and horrendous murders and riots ensue. It’s a fast paced beginning with a lot of confusion and action happening, setting up the rest of the story.

Storyline

The middle of the story is where I felt the most disconnected to Kieran, but very intrigued by what was happening to Waverly and The Pastor (Ann Mathor). Waverly spends a lot of time drugged, put through surgeries and Solitary Confinement. Kieran on the other ship is trying to save some of the family members they thought they had lost in the raid, salvaging what he can of his people, the ship and constantly arguing back and forth with Seth about what should be done.

Ending

I don’t want to spoil the ending, but it definitely does not leave the reader in a content place. This is one of those books that will keep you thinking about it afterwards. There are a lot of messages that come out of this book. All of the things humans take seriously like procreation, religion, love and survival.

Thoughts

The deeper ideas brought forth in this story may upset some readers. I found it as an opportunity to think about the above subjects personally and how I feel about them. What it would be like to be in this situation and what would I fight for. What if you were raised with no religion and compare it to people whose lives are built upon a certain one. The clashes between the two and the normal everyday lives are bound to come into conflict. This book is one that will get you thinking, maybe freak you out a little, rattle your bones.

Quotes

Waverly reached for Mather’s throat, but straps tied her to the bed. She could only attack with words, and she screamed them: “You’re insane!”

“Power. they never liked the way we did things on the New Horizon. We were more religious and less…I believe they’d call it ‘free thinking.’ I think they wanted to make New Earth into their idea of a free society,” Mather shuddered. “Well, I couldn’t let them do that. It wasn’t just about our own futures, Waverly. It was about your future, too. And the future of every generation of women to follow on new Earth. Do you understand what’s at stake here.”

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“Sylvia “Vee” Bell hates that, like her deceased mother, she has narcolepsy. But this embarrassing condition is nowhere near as bad as what happens during these episodes: when Vee passes out she actually slides into somebody else’s conciousness and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. This is how Vee finds herself in the head of a killer, standing over a classmate’s slashed and murdered body.

When another cheerleader turns up dead, Vee realizes that someone is killing off her sister’s friends. Suddenly everyone is a suspect, and Vee finds herself enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies and danger. She must face up to the fact that she can trust no one-not even the family and friends she thought she knew.”

As it was an electronic uncorrected proof, I don’t have a cover to respond to, but judging by the options I can see on goodreads, both the UK and the US covers are going to be beautiful.  Here, take a look.  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9542582-slide

I tore through this book in less than 24 hours and I felt it was authentically respectful to readers.

The characters are anything but stereotypical, and I am in awe of how multifaceted and well thought out each of them are.

My favourite character is Zane, without giving away spoilers; he’s an incredibly unpredictable dark horse, with a good heart. My least favourite character is Vee’s father. He’s so preoccupied that Vee is forced to practically give up her childhood to be the emotional rock for her sister. That’s just not right.

Jill Hathaway appears to have a way with bringing up touchy subjects such as suicide, binge drinking, and bullying, so as to create a non-judgemental playing field. Her characters are the ones with the moral compass. We are allowed to make up our own minds how these things make us feel. Things just are the way they are, like it or lump it in a very non-preachy manner.

The plot is thick and juicy, making the reading process quite enjoyable.  Her use of imagery plonks you right into Vee’s head and has you galloping right along with her in first person. You can’t possibly know a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes and I can’t wait to walk another mile in Vee’s.

Hardcover, 256 pages

Expected publication: March 27th 2012 by Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins

ISBN 139780062077905

http://jillscribbles.blogspot.com/

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The mouse was invented around the late 60s-70s and it was made of wood. Interesting eh? Anyways, it had no practical application in those days, so it was shelved along with plenty of other brilliant ideas that at the time many thought would just be a waste of people’s time and money. Then comes an interesting man and his team of fellow geeks and programmers called Steve Jobs, and acquires this idea from Xerox (that’s a story for another day hehe). Needless to say, in the 1980s, Apple released to the masses the Apple Macintosh, the first “affordable” personal computer for the masses. And of course, it included a mouse. This was an amazing revelation! And it stuck.

Fast forward to today. The mouse is as common with technology today as butter is to bread. It’s the primary tool we use to surf the Net, play games, design, draw and so on. It’s our modern day hammer.

Since I eat, breathe and sleep technology, I’ve had A LOT of mice. They come in all shapes and sizes and many are tailored for specific functions like gaming, design, ergonomics for those with Carpal Tunnel, and the list goes on. Since the list is so long, I’m going to recommend a few I’m using nowadays.

If you’re a PC gamer (high five!) you want to go with a gaming mouse. These are generally a tad more expensive than your run-o-the-mill optical, but the features you get to give you the edge make it worthwhile. They come with extra buttons, use laser sensors (don’t look at ‘em) instead of optical, and they allow you to change the density of the mouse by adding or subtracting weight in the form of little metal pellets or discs. Gaming not your thing? I recommend the Logitech G-500 or the   Microsoft Sidewinder X5. Gaming not your thing? No problem!

Ever heard of a trackball? No? Well I’ll tell you. It’s a sort of mouse that instead of moving it about on your desk, it has a ball that you move with your thumb or index finger. It may seem strange at first but trust me you’ll feel the difference after several hours of surfing the web without your wrist hurting. I use the Logitech Wireless Trackball M570 and if you’re willing to give trackballs a shot, go for this one.

There really is no limit in what you choose here. Feel free to drop me a line if you have any suggestions!

Take care and have fun! (but be safe eh?)

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If you have already been swept away by the first in the series “Unearthly”, you may be feeling the same sense of apprehension that I was with approaching the second instalment. Well don’t. Hand has again crafted a beautiful tale that will have you falling for the amazing cast of characters all over again and soaring along with a plot that raises the bar even higher.

In fact this also should come with a warning label: “entering this world of delights will leave you breathless with a racing pulse and dreams filled with smouldering hot angels and mortals alike”. Just like our protagonist Clara, Hallowed has a more grown up feel than Unearthly as we approach not only a whole new branch of issues and revelations that will leave you on the edge of your seat, but the loss of a loved character that will have you reaching for the tissues.

Not only has Hand firmly put her stamp on the angel sub-genre, she gifts us with characters that are some of the most realistic and honestly flawed that I’ve ever had the pleasure of encountering. Hallowed is darker and more adult than its predecessor, yet despite the darker context it’s not overly morbid and you will surprisingly walk away feeling light in spirit. The glimpse of Clara’s emerging maturity certainly helps chase any lingering sense of morbidity away.  And for those of you who have been dying to know the answers to those burning questions, you will get your wish and a few more fresh new ones to ponder. If you have Hallowed on your wishlist and you haven’t read Unearthly, I highly recommend you read it first. Trust me it’s worth the extra wait for the whole experience.

My only negative was that I was hoping to see Jeffery take on a larger role and to find out just some of the secrets he has been hiding, the ending does give me hope that this may just be around the corner though and plenty of theories on just what Clara will find herself facing next. And don’t be surprised if Team Edward and Team Jacob are replaced with Team Christian and Team Tucker. Just sayin’.

Hallowed- Cynthia Hand

Harper Collins

395 Pages

ISBN:978-0-7322-9261-4

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Maggie Stiefvater’s Wolves of Mercy Falls series!! I loooove!”

Yes, indeed, you’ve witnessed just one, of the many fan girl moments I have. But trust me, this one is totally worth it!

The book I’m reviewing for you today is, Forever by (duuhh) Maggie Stiefvater; the final installment in herseries. PLEASE READ! I want to warn you guys though! I can get a bit excited, and babble the ending or other important things, so if you plan on reading this book or any other in the series, please don’t read the italic parts. Those are things I would consider spoils, and give away important parts. I would never want to ruin such a good series for anyone.

Okay so fan girl moment, check; spoiler warnings, check! Now to the actual review.

Maggie Stiefvater’s series includes three books, #1 Shiver, #2 Linger, and finally #3 Forever. What makes this series so special and unique, is that the cover’s color, is the same color used to print the font inside of the book! Isn’t that crazy??! I’ve never seen any other book, besides children’s books which do that! I think it’s amazing! I feel like this is a huge plus, why? Well people would want to see it for themselves if the font really is the same color as the cover, but to that, they would have to find a book, and crack it open. Which means there’s a huge chance that, that someone who took the time to check the font, might actually start reading the story.

While reading Forever in school, a few of my friends pointed out, that the cover gives them almost a Twilight kind of vibe. Yes that might be true. But no, Wolves of Mercy Falls is nothing like Twilight. It might have wolves, but it doesn’t have anything to do with vampires, nor is the story line even close to the same. But if you’ve read Stephanie Meyer’s series, and you haven’t had enough of a sweet and cute werewolf, than you should definitively pick up this series.

Throughout Shiver and Linger, we got two different perspectives, Sam’s and Grace’s, which I really enjoyed! You get to see what both of them are thinking, and they are truly feeling about themselves and the current situations their in. In Forever, not only do you get Sam and Grace’s side of the story, but you’re also getting Cole (the wolf selected to protect, take care of, and lead the pack once Beck is gone), and Isabel (the straight forward girl, would falls for Cole, but can’t admit it to herself).

These perspectives, do switch from chapter to chapter, but not in any specific order.

I absolutely adored Sam, he seems like the perfect guy, even with his horrible past. His relationship with Grace was one of the big things that made run out to the store, the day Forever came out, and buy it!

Grace on the other hand, is like no character I’ve read about. When she was younger, not only was she attacked but also saved by a wolf. She has weird parents, who care about her, but also let her do whatever she wants, hardly noticing that she’s still alive. Grace just isn’t the average Young Adult book, kind of character, I had a great time reading, and learning more about her.

Cole, the wolf who was selected to lead the pack, once Beck was gone, just like Sam, has his own past. I wasn’t sure if I liked Cole, the first time we meet him in Linger. He just doesn’t seem like the type of guy I would want to hangout or even be around. But by the time I was halfway through Forever, I grew attached to him. Now I like Cole almost as much as I do Sam!

Honestly, Isabel almost reminds me of myself. No I’m not rich, I’m average. And there’s no way my dad would hunt and kill animals, he’s just not that kind of guy. But the way Isabel acts, towards Cole, reminds me of myself when I was in middle school. I’ve never had a boyfriend before (at that time), and I didn’t really trust them. So if one tried to get anywhere near me, I would kind of just push them away. Which she does a lot with Cole.

I really enjoyed all of the characters, and their different personalities, no one was boring, or stuck up. Some how I could relate to each one in a different way, and that was one of the best things about this story.

The story line, and the ending was nothing I expected! Not even close, as I was reading the last page or so, I caught myself with my jaw dropped! I couldn’t believe what happened! Of course I can’t tell you, but I’m sure you’re in for a shocker! The ending was a bit open, I wish it would have left me more satisfied, instead of making me want more! But let’s just hope Maggie Stiefvater has another Wolves of Mercy Falls book up her sleeve!

• ISBN-13: 9780545259088
• Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
• Publication date: 7/12/2011
• Pages: 400
• Sales rank: 786
• Age range: 14 – 17 Years

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Even though I want to do all of the above, most of my goals for this insane year, are for Turning Pages, and blogging. I’ve come up with a few different main points, that I want to discuss.

One of the most important and hardest things about having/reaching goals, is actually doing what you said you would, and keeping your eyes on the prize. A lot of people lose their way, only a few months into the new year, and just go back to whatever they were doing the year before.

Here are some of my goals:

Reviewing:

I want to write longer, more in depth, and interesting reviews. Besides that I want to write reviews more often, and have them published on a few different websites (such as Turning Pages, Burn Bright, Goodreads etc).

Youtube:

I have a YouTube channel, but barely ever find myself using it. This year I hope to use it every week for reviews and In My Mailboxes. Along with that, I want to find more different types of book related videos I can do!

Twitter:

I feel that Twitter is one of the biggest and most popular website bloggers, authors and readers use to communicate. I also have one, but barely ever find myself using it, so in 2012, I want to be able to tweet at least five tweets a day, and have a conversation with one person!

Goodreads:

This website, is a great place to repost all of my reviews, and I started doing that, but just was to lazy to keep going. Which I’ll be changing this year.

2012, is where I want to branch out, meet more people, authors and communicate with my followers. I have so many plans for this year, for both blogging and my personal life. I’m excited to get things started and kicked into gear!

Do you have any goals? If so, what are they?

Lisa!

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This year is shaping up to be the most epic one ever, and I’m not just saying that because it gets bigger and bigger every year without fail… I’m saying it because there are now going to be six stops on the calendar.

Melbourne has theirs April 13-15. The new kid on the block, the Gold Coast (Queensland), is a week later April 20-22. Sydney gets their chance from June 15-17 Perth is June 22-24. Brisbane is November 9-11 and Adelaide rounds out the year November 16-18.

You may be wondering what the big hairy deal is; and if you are, my guess is you have never been to Supanova. Poor you, let me give you a really quick rundown of the awesome stuff you can expect from this much awaited expo.

The difficult part is where to start.

I guess you start with the pricing; it’s cheaper to go to Supanova than catching a flight to the USA, or the UK. (They’re the only other places I can think of who may have an event that might match this level of awesome.) Tickets for the Melbourne and Gold Coast expos go on sale in late February BTW.

Then the next thing you will notice is the level of participation. The crowds may be a little large; however there is always a cosplay competition and the costuming is always, always top notch. You may wish to dress up just for the heck of it, but be a good sport and be willing to have your photo taken, and if you are planning to be the photographer, be nice and ask your subject if it’s okay before snapping their pic.

Next it has to be the merchandise. Swords, anime, comics, bobble heads, clothing, costumes, posters and rare items that you may not see outside of the expo, are one of the main reasons my family turn up year after year. Oh, and considering the downturn of the bookshop gravy train, there is always a book stall selling a nice selection of sci fi fantasy books, and on that note we move to the next cool thing that Supanova is famous for, and that is authors. Check with the Supanova website closer to the date of your closest expo to see who will be the lucky ones to be signing and doing panels on various topics to do with their line of work.

But then the thing you may want to save up for is the guests from movies, tv and character voices from well-known anime series. Again check their website or friend them on facebook for updates on appearances and guest lists closer to the date.

If this hasn’t convinced you, then the only thing left to do is challenge you to go to your nearest Supanova pop culture expo and not have fun. Mission Impossible!

http://www.supanova.com.au/

http://www.facebook.com/supanovaexpo

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The Principal told Winter Adams she has to try a little harder at school and consigns her as the photographer for the school newspaper. On her first assignment, she observes a beautiful stranger, and by taking his picture, sets into motion, a series of events that will forever change the way Winter views both herself and the world around her.

The chapter viewpoints shift between Blake’s mother in the late 1800’s and Winter in the present day. We’re finding out about the things that make Blake tick and also living through the revelation of truth as it hits Winter head on.

The cover art shows a red haired girl clinging helplessly to a young man. The teal hues of the forest that surround the couple make the flaming red of her hair pop. It is certainly eye catching with a romantic ambience.

I enjoyed the curly circumstances that come from left field adding an extraordinary level of adversity to overcome.

I thought perhaps Winter could have fought a little more rather than being the personification of a damsel in distress. I don’t quite know if it is my own prejudices or if I am just being hyper aware, but after so many accidents… if I was Winter I would have at least made myself fight back or avoid certain situations.

The end is left open for the next installment and my only hope for the next book is that Winter stops being such a push over.

All in all, the book was enjoyable and made a dreary rainy day far more pleasurable.

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