Welcome to another Life with Lisa!!!

Even though I haven’t been busy, life itself has been pretty crazy! I would say I can’t believe I’m already a senior in high school, but I’m not, because I can believe it! Don’t get me wrong, I love going to school, I love high school, I enjoy learning, meeting new people, going to sports and other school events. But on the other hand, I want to get out in the world, and do something productive. I’m tired of sitting in classrooms for eight hours, five days out of seven, and waiting around for someone to teach me something I don’t already know.

So for the question, “Am I excited to become a senior?” Yes and no.

Yes because…

..I decided to do an entire wardrobe change. I felt that since I’m turning 18 soon, I should be dressing more mature. Instead of just throwing on something in the morning when I’m half asleep and not even sure if whatever I’m wearing matches, I should pack my school bag, and layout the clothes I plan on wearing the night before.

..I purchased my own agenda, to keep myself organized. My school actually hands them out for free on the first day of school, but usually their too small, and I just tend give up in squeezing my homework for eight classes in a two by four inch square.

..Instead of taking a lot of Advance Placement classes, I’m only taking one, and taking more educational but fun classes, such as Astronomy, Marine Biology, Creative Writing and Writing for College!

..New classes means meeting new people, and I love doing that!

..I enjoy going to school events, and cheering on my friends.

No because…

… I’m retaking both the SAT and ACT, just to see if I could get higher scores, which means study study study!

… I need to finally decide on what I want to do later in life, and I don’t really know yet! (I was thinking elementary school math teacher?)

… Projects!!

Even though I’m not as excited as many of my fellow classmates, I can’t wait to see what good times, and challenges senior year will bring me!

Hello Fellow Bookworms!

I’m back, yet with another review, this time on The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle. Before I get started I wanted to say a huge thank you to Krista for sending me her extra ARC! Thank you! Truth be told, I read and finished this book at the beginning of the summer, and have pushed off writing the review until now (the end of summer). Not because I didn’t enjoy or like it, but more because I needed to give the story, the characters and the ending time to sink it.

The Peculiars follows the main character Lena Mattacascar on the journey to finding her father, and the reason behind her elongated fingers and toes (she’s always wondered if they were signs of Goblinism). Days before her eighteenth birthday, Lena receives a hand-written letter from her father, explaining why he left and where he’d gone. Deciding to set out to search for him, Lena leaves for Scree.

In the society Lena lives in, folktales and myths have been passed down from generation to generation about a race of people called Peculiars. The word itself means strange, odd, uncommon and unusual. Many people don’t (or at least try not to) believe in them. Peculiars are people with defects, and rumors say, if someone is accused of being a Peculiar, they are sent to Scree to work in the coal mines.

Throughout her adventure Lena learns a lot about herself, and her family. She meets a few interesting people such as Jimson (who sat with her on the train, when her bag with important papers and money was stolen), Mr. Quiggley (who she starts to work for), and Thomas Saltre (a marshall who’s father was murdered by Lena’s).

What attracted me to this book so much was the cover, not the one of the ARC I received, but the actual thing. The summary seemed pretty interesting as well, so I went in with a open mind, ready for anything. But within the first few chapters, I was already bored and uninterested. Getting to learn about Lena and her hands and feet was intriguing, but the beginning dragged on. The train ride was maybe four of five chapters long, and boring. Nothing interesting happened and when it did (when her bag with papers and her money was stolen), everyone acted like everything was okay.

But being who I am, I pushed through and continued reading. The middle of the book had a few good parts, but again nothing too exciting happened. At this point, I was constantly thinking, “Do something! Don’t just sit around!”. But man, did the ending slap me in the face! It was like no other! Even though Lena didn’t meet the person she was looking for, she did meet someone else…who is very close to her (well..biologically)!

In The Peculiars I loved the concept, the ending, the characters, and that the characters loved books! But on the other hand, I do the think the beginning and middle of the book can be a bit dry and drag on at times. The ending is what makes the book good! If you get the chance to read The Peculiars, I recommend being patient and pushing through, because the ending is amazing, and will leave you wanting more!

Happy Summer Day!! And welcome to another one of my reviews!

Today’s lucky book is The Last Echo, by Kimberly Derting! It’s the third book in The Body Finder series, and just recently hit the shelves in April. A little background knowledge on the series; the main character is a girl named Violet. No she can’t see the future, and she’s not dating vampires or werewolves (actually she’s dating her extremely sweet best friend named, Jay). Violet can sense the dead; she can look at anybody and sense if they have been murdered. Vi can also feel dead bodies who are unrested looking for peace.

“In the end, all that’s left is an Echo.

Before, Violet’s morbid ability to sense the dead led her to uncover dark murders and long-buried secrets in her small town. Now that she’s working with a special investigative team, Violet hopes she can help even more people—whether by saving a life or catching a killer.

Although she’s relieved to finally be honest about what she can do, her instant connection with her mysterious partner, Rafe, is both confusing and unsettling, and their unique bond creates tension with her boyfriend, Jay. When she discovers the body of a college student murdered by “the collector,” Violet refuses to give up on the case. With her own relationship on the line, Violet doesn’t realize that the serial killer is looking to add to his collection and that she may have caught his eye. Will the life Violet has to save be her own?”

In The Desires of The Dead, the story leaves off with Violet joining and becoming part of a “special” force in the police. Working on a new case with others who have powers just as special as hers, Violet gets herself in too deep, once again. After being kidnapped by the man, which the police and her task force have been looking for (who had not only taken, but also murdered various teenage girls, just like Vi) she’s all her own. Vi has no choice, but to save herself, and get out before things go too far!

I had very high expectations forThe Last Echo (which by the way, isn’t the last book in the series!). I enjoyed the first two books, it almost seemed impossible for the third book to be any better than them! But Kimberly Derting proved me wrong once again! If you haven’t started reading this series, you’re living under a rock, and need to pick up a copy for yourself…right now!

I picked this book up at the library on cover art alone… well, that and the blurb on the inside cover.

A girl dressed in an oversized black jumper, covering her face with clenched fists and her hair is being blown off her face but it’s morphing into smoke. It looked intriguing and beautiful to me.

The following is the blurb as it appears on goodreads.com

“Ava is welcomed home from the hospital by a doting mother, lively friends, and a crush finally beginning to show interest. There’s only one problem: Ava can’t remember any of them – and can’t shake the eerie feeling that she’s not who they say she is.

Ava struggles to break through her amnesiac haze as she goes through the motions of high-school life, but the memories that surface take place in a very different world, where Ava and familiar-faced friends are under constant scrutiny and no one can be trusted. Ava doesn’t know what to make of these visions, or of the boy who is at the center of them all, until he reappears in her life and offers answers . . .

but only in exchange for her trust.”

I have always wondered about déjà vu. The French translation is ‘already seen’. Some reports say it is a misfire of our neurons. It has also been said that it is a form of foresight, or precognition; that feeling that we’ve been here before, or have met someone but not in this life.

For Ava, opening her eyes to a strange reality she doesn’t remember at all makes her déjà vu episodes feel comforting more than off-putting. Any memories are better than no memory at all, even if these memories are horrific and sometimes downright scary.

It was interesting to delve into the unsettling premise of As I Wake. The need for love at any cost, moral and ethical standards weighed against the desperation of a heartbroken mother with an option of second chance with a daughter she had lost long before she died.

If you had the chance to stay in a reality that may be easy and luxurious knowing the love of your life is in a parallel reality, and to be with him would mean living the life of a fugitive, what would you choose?

If you’re sick of candy, sweet, fluffy romance books this is your cure. It’s gritty, haunting and makes you think. Be prepared to leave a night light on.

http://www.elizabethwrites.com/

Hardcover, 269 pages

Published September 15th 2011 by Dutton Juvenile ISBN 0525422099 (ISBN13: 9780525422099)

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides, having spent her young life concealing the truth of her parentage and authentic nature. This task proves ever more difficult when she is thrust into the spotlight of the royal court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, and struggles to protect her own secret, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

Even prior to its release, I had been hearing nothing but positive declarations regarding Rachel Hartman’s debut Seraphina, particularly from readers of young adult high fantasy. These very affirmative murmurings really stood apart from the reviews that tend to follow many other dragon novels in the YA market; Seraphina wasn’t merely hyped  -it was genuinely praised, and that made me curious.

Rachel Hartman has crafted a very detailed and vast universe for which to set her coming-of-age draconic tale – so detailed in fact that the novel comes equipped with a list of the cast of characters as well as a glossary of terms contained in its final pages. For myself, I can say that the glossary of terms most certainly proved necessary!!! Not one to provide large passages of information from the outset, Hartman instead wastes no time in immersing the reader in the city of Gorred and its citizens, complete with all of their idiosyncratic mannerisms and unique language. Ultimately, this helped to establish a very credible sense of place and time, however it was on occasion somewhat overwhelming for a first-time visitor to this world.

The characters that inhabit the pages of Seraphina are perhaps its most memorable and engaging element. Seraphina herself proves to be a worthy heroine, at once plucky and independent, while never giving the impression that there isn’t room to learn, grow and make valuable mistakes in her journey towards self-acceptance. Her romance with Prince Lucian Kiggs is honestly one of the best developed and well-paced I have encountered in young adult fiction for a very, very long time. And while there is a long list of excellent supporting characters, both nice and not-so-nice, my favourite without a doubt was Orma, Seraphina’s uncle, who struggles as a dragon in human form, overcome at times by emotions and completely unable to make sense of them. Any time I saw Orma’s name upon the page, my heart soared!

Some readers have questioned whether Hartman’s world-building overshadowed the plot of the novel, however I found the gradual pacing and building of suspense to be quite effective, ultimately preferring a focus on character over a focus on merely constructing event after event. The ‘action’ of the narrative might prove too slight for some fantasy fans, but I felt it was all the more potent for its sparseness, and remarkably for the first in a series, the conclusion held no cliff-hanger or overt lead-in to the second instalment.

Seraphina may not convert me into an instant fan of dragon literature within YA, but it has certainly helped to regenerate my faith in YA authors to create worthwhile characters, intriguing universes, and intelligent love stories and character relationships.

Seraphina – Rachel Hartman

Random House Australia

ISBN – 0375866566

467 pages

July 10th 2012