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Bel:

Cover

A beautiful young lady in a black & white with a vine accent around the edges. Smack bang in the middle of the cover is an exquisite rose bloom in a wonderfully vivid scarlet. The title is in red, and I quite like the effect.

Characters

Magic practitioners, young women climbing the social ladder, and the stereotypical hero and heroine can be found in this one.

Favourite

Old Bony. She’s a bit of a nasty character, but her heart is in the right place.

Least Favourite

Ivan. I know this is a fairytale retelling, but seriously?

Beginning

A Beauty and the Beast retelling: girl becomes the prisoner of a beast and this is where it all gets a little too convenient.

Storyline

Girl is sent home, but things occur to make her want to go back to the beast.

Ending

Not quite the Disney version of the happy ending, but it’s close enough.

Thoughts

This was a quick read, but some things fell into the way-too-convenient basket for my liking. However, I do appreciate that Natasha is a brilliantly strong female lead character.

This would definitely be a nice entry-point to fairytale re-tellings for the middle grade crowd. But for the older YA audience, it’s just not as strong as other versions.

Quote

“Tonight, you ride in the sleigh with my pretties.” ~ Old Bony making evening plans for Natasha

 

Krista:

Cover

The cover had immediate appeal to me, the red really stands out with the white background and represents the story. 

 Characters

Natasha and Ivan. Beauty and the Beast, Natasha comes from  poor family, Ivan from a rich. They both come under the care of Luel for the beginning of the story and the relationships blossom from there.

Favourite

Luel, the care taker of Ivan, an intelligent and magical woman who brought a wonderful motherly element to the story.

Least Favourite

The villain. Usually, I really enjoy the drama the villain adds to this story, but with this one I just didn’t like him much.

Beginning

Natasha gets caught in a snow storm in the forest; she runs from wolves and finds sanctuary in a mansion. She finds there is nobody around and finds herself drawn to one red rose in the garden. Upon her touch, the rose falls apart and the home-owners demand repayment for their loss.

Storyline

Even though, at first, Natasha is held at the mansion until her debt has been paid, she soon learns of the mystery of the man-beast, Luel and the magic that keeps them in hiding. Natasha soon grows very fond of Ivan and Luel and wants to help him release him from the curse.

Ending

Very powerful, eventful, and big moments that really made this story a beautiful read.

Thoughts

I was a little wary at the beginning but once it really gets going, Natasha begins her travels and meeting the witch it really took off. Set in an alternate Prague, the story recreates the landscape, cultures, and languages. Great world building and characters that you really want to root for. Natasha is a strong and admirable character. I very much enjoyed this fairy tale story and highly recommend it. I love stories that take us on a trip, getting a glimpse at different cultures and social life. Great story telling all around.

Quote

For who as seen Old Bony these days? Not a single soul. Not once in a hundred years has she shown her long thin nose and sharp teeth to people anywhere.  Who knows, maybe her brand of magic, the magic you hear of from the old stories, cannot survive in our modern world of telegraphs and trains and typewriters. 

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Lisa:

Cover:

I don’t really know how I feel about this cover. I guess I’m not really into covers that only have the “characters” on them; they just don’t tell me anything about the story.  So I don’t hate it, but also it isn’t anything special.

Characters:

I actually liked all of the characters. The only thing I was worried about, when reading Gone was that I would get confused with the characters, since there are so many. But that wasn’t any issue at all, since each of the character was pretty distinct and interesting!

Favorite:

I would have to say that Sam and Lana are my favourite characters. I enjoyed reading about all of them, but these two stuck out the most to me.  Lana is brave for surviving on her own for so long, and I thought her friendship with her dog Patrick was really sweet!

Sam was also a very tough guy. While many people wanted him to be the leader, and to take charge, he stayed very humble, and instead just wanted to keep to himself. Sam seems to always be there when he is REALLY needed, and I also liked that about him!

Least Favorite:

I don’t think I have one. When I first started thinking about this, I right away thought of Orc and his friends. But I also liked reading about these characters. Why? Because when things stop working and the world seems to be ending, not everyone will be calm, cool, and collected, but some kids will turn to violence. I liked seeing that side of things.

Beginning:                                                                                                                                  

I had kind of a hard time getting into Gone, because it seemed like nothing was happening. All the teenagers and parents are gone, and now the kids of the island have to fend for themselves.

Middle:

Things start to turn violent, when the kids try to create rules and regulations that they are used to. But obviously some of these kids will abuse the leadership they were granted. Besides that, there are a lot of kids just like Sam, Astrid, and Little Pete, who have these special abilities.

End:

WOW! Is all I can say!

Overall Thoughts:

I’m a little sad that it took me so long to get into this one, but it was well worth pushing through! The middle and ending were SO fast paced and action packed, that I can’t wait to start reading the second book, as well as the rest of the series!

 

Bel:

Cover

A mist of toxic green is the backdrop to the title mostly embossed, besides the ‘o’ which is just an absence of the mist. Very eerie.

Characters

I would imagine most kids would be resilient, and this cast a great job of keeping it together.

Favourite

Albert. A Life saver on many occasions.

Least Favourite

Drake. Whacked in the head.

Beginning

Everyone 15 and over disappears on a day that is otherwise seemingly normal.

Storyline

The fall out of having only 14 and unders running the show. Survival of the fittest at its creepiest.

Ending

Not what I was expecting but thrilling none the less.

Thoughts

This is a YA version of the Dome by Stephen King. It also reminds me somewhat of Lord of the Flies. I found the book to be fast paced though there were some gruesome parts that I had to close the book and come back to it after my stomach had settled. Once you get past those bits, it’s a book that really is difficult to put down.

Quote

“Window seat, window seat, window seat.” Astrid calming Little Pete down.

 

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Bel:

Cover

The title draws the eye with grungy bright wording. Pink sneakers standing on a stage door pass covered in blood, hinting at the storyline. All in all, it is highly effective!

Characters

All standard issue boy band types can be found here.

Favourite

Genevieve. Awesome best friend.

Least Favourite

Alan Knightley. Just grrr!

Beginning

Lorna starts at a state high school while her brother’s band, Turmoil, spends some time back on Aussie soil.

Storyline

While doing homework in a dressing room, Lorna overhears a plot to kill the band. Can she figure out who wants to endanger her brother and the rest of the boys before they put the plan into action?

Ending

Guess ya gotta read it to find this one out.

Thoughts

This was a fun, quick romp. I enjoyed the banter between the band members. Nansi Kunze has a knack with creating tension and writing likeable characters. This would be perfect for those in the Northern Hemisphere to take on a summer vacation, or just read in a warm sunny spot.

Quote

“Apparently I’m a disruptive influence,” I said, “Or do you think it’s something else? Jealousy maybe? Perhaps he had a band once, and they never made it big because he was too damned ugly…” ~ Lorna talking about her home-room teacher.

 

 

Krista:

Cover

Punk Rock! Gritty background of purple and black with bright lettering, cute shoes and bloody pass! Very appealing, attention grabbing, and cute.

Characters

Variety of characters in this one; Lorna the MC who is the sister of a band member of Turmoil, her friend Gen, and the members of the band.  The characters have great chemistry together, and it shows through the writing.

Favourite

Marius–he is a joker, ladies man, member of the band, and hilarious.  And Flint, he is a really great, caring brother.

Least Favourite

I really didn’t have a least favourite (besides the villain who I will not name). Every character had a place and fitted into the story perfectly.

Beginning

Lorna’s guardian is her older brother who also happens to be in a very popular international band. She has been travelling with them but finally has a chance at a more settled life and a normal school. Bad thing is that everybody knows her brother, and she’s bombarded with questions from classmates until she finds a friend in Gen. Then she overhears a possible plot to kill the band members by somebody inside the entourage. Since she’s on the inside, the Constable asks her to help figure out which person it could be.

Storyline

Lorna agrees to take on the job of being “undercover” to help figure out who is plotting to kill the band.

Ending

Heart pounding and very climatic. A lot of things happen at once and big secrets revealed.

Thoughts

What I loved most about the book was the travelling. Lorna travels anywhere the band goes, so the whole book is not just set at the school with all the love-struck girls. I also loved the friendship that Lorna and Flint (her brother) have. There is constant movement in the story which keeps everything fast-paced and entertaining. It’s a very humorous and cute read.

Quote

I watched in alarm as Marius undid the belt of his yukata and let it slip from his shoulders, so that only his underwear remained. Clearly I had to stop him before he went any further. The problem was, all my instincts went against it-after all, I was naked in here. And though I’d seen Marius in very little clothing plenty of times, there’s a big difference between seeing someone in a pair of Speedos and revealing that you’ve been spying on them while they stripped off.

Marius’s hands reached for his undies. It was now or never.

“You do realise this is the woman’s bath, right?”

Lisa:

Cover

I didn’t get to see the cover, so I can’t comment.

Characters

Sadly, I didn’t really relate to any of the characters. We don’t get to know much about Lorna except that her brother is in a band named Turmoil and that she travels and spends a lot of time with them. I expected more from her, considering she’s the little sister of such a huge star.

Favorite

I didn’t really have one other than Gen, simply because she was such a good friend. But no one in particular really stuck out.

Least Favorite

I don’t really have a least favorite either, but there was one scene that really bothered me. Lorna was at school and a lot of people wanted to ask her questions, so she decided to answer a few. When one student asked her if Marius really cheated on his ex-girlfriend, Lorna responded by saying, she isn’t sure and can’t really release information like that anyway…

But then later she turns around to Gen, and basically tells her all the rumours she’s heard about the situation; that Marius let the fame get to his head, and that he was caught with another girl, making out.

Later Lorna finds out that the rumour wasn’t true, and she feels like crap about it.

It irked me so much, that at first Lorna defends the band, but then completely throws one of its members under the bus, when she, herself, doesn’t even know what’s true. I hate it when people gossip, so this definitely bothered me.

Beginning

The beginning was pretty fast paced. We learned about the band, and that Lorna was going back to a normal high school. We also witnessed Lorna make a new best friend and avoid a creepy guy. It was only a few pages in when Lorna over hears someone plotting to kill her brother and his friends.

Middle

Lorna learns the truth about Marius. We, the readers, get to discover what happened to Lorna, Flint, and Marius’s parents.

Ending

I’ll have to admit that the ending was pretty intense! It did keep my attention and had me sitting on the edge of my seat. The entire story, I was back and forth between who it could be trying to bomb up the band, but I never did I guess who it actually was. The ending of Kill the Music was my favourite part.

Overall Thoughts

I think I didn’t enjoy it as much as Bel and Krista because I simply couldn’t connect with any of the characters. 

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Krista:

Cover

The cover represents the story very well. I could clearly see Virgin as the girl on the cover: serious and always on the ready. The flying vehicles in the futuristic city look down upon the park. Very detailed and representative.

Characters

The overall feel of the characters that I got from the book was like detectives solving a crime, aiming for the same goal, yet thwarted by clashing personalities that can get both serious and hilarious.

Favorite

It’s a tie between Virgin and Sixkiller; they are the best when they are interacting (mostly bickering). They made me laugh.

Least Favorite

I have to agree with Belinda here–Detective Chance

Beginning

When park ranger Virgin Jackson witnesses a mysterious death in what she thought was a contained and locked park, her senses flare up. She has been assigned a new partner from the US Marshall service, Nate Sixkiller, and, unexpectedly, she is now seeing an imaginary animal from her childhood.

Storyline

Being preoccupied with the park and the murder, Virgin is not feeling up to being a babysitter to her new partner who seems to be hiding the true reason he has joined on at the park. But when Sixkiller shows signs of being able to see her imaginary friend, things begin to get really crazy.

Ending

With the advanced technology set up at the park, all life within it should be able to be detected through the system. Things begin not making any sense, and Virgin soon learns that her life is in danger. Along the way, she gets some help from her best friend, and some relaxation time with her stripper lover, Heart.

Thoughts

The story goes back and forth between the park and the city scenes, as we follow Virgin through her home life as well as work life: her romantic life as well as her professional. Virgin’s character is strong willed and determined, but as the story progresses she slowly lets down her guard and allows people in.

Peacemaker is a very imaginative and entertaining read. I recommend this to readers who enjoy a strong lead female character.

Quote

“My name is Virgin Jackson. Or Ranger Jackson, if you prefer. But if you call me ma’am again, I’m likely to break your face.”

Lisa:

Cover

Totally kick butt! I absolutely love how many elements the cover includes from the story! I feel like the cover of Peacemaker completely represents the story inside.

Characters: A park ranger? A cowboy? An imaginary eagle bird? Couldn’t get anymore random or anymore AWESOME!

Favorite

Without a doubt I would have to say, Virgin. She was so sassy, sarcastic, funny and knew how to handle herself well in all the situations she was thrown into.

Least Favorite

Unlike Bel and Krista I would have to say that I don’t have a least favorite. I would agree that there were some weird characters featured in Peacemaker, but I found them all to be pretty intriguing.

Beginning

Virgin thinks she witnesses a murder in the park after hours, she is partnered up with a cowboy, and she starts seeing an imaginary animal from her childhood. The beginning is of Peacemaker throws the reader right into the random craziness of the story without any sort of hesitation!

Middle

Some much is going on around Virgin, that she isn’t in the mood to take care of the cowboy that she now calls her partner. But when she discovers that he might have the ability to see her imaginary animal friend as well, she becomes MUCH more interested!

Ending

Like Bel, my lips are sealed!

Overall

I wasn’t too sure how I was going to feel about this one. I loved Marianne’s Burn Bright trilogy and was excited to get started on this one. Why was a I nervous? Because there seemed to be a lot going on. But after only a few chapters, I was suckered in, and loved it! Its SO absolutely random, but very, very good!

 

 

Bel:

Cover

Love the artwork by Joey Hifi. It represents the grit and flow of the story perfectly. Yes. Yes. YES!

Characters

Between imaginary animals and bad asses, there’re a buffet of brilliant characters to pick from.

Favourite

Marshall Nate Sixkiller. Dude has some skills.

Least Favourite

Detective Chance. Issues!

Beginning

Virgin Jackson, a ranger for Birrium Park, notices some funky stuff happening in her park.

Storyline

Virgin gets partnered unwillingly with Nate Sixkiller to sort out the funky stuff.

Ending

As with most other Book Club write ups, you’ll have to read it to find out.

Thoughts

I was so wrapped up in the plot and the characterisation; I didn’t even notice the pages flipping by. I love the world building. Virign has to come back and kick more ass.  

Quote

“You haven’t forgotten have you, Virgin?”

I sighed. “Gate 65. Terminal 21. Tall guy wearing a uniform. His name’s Nate.” – Virgin talking with Bull Hunt.

 

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Bel:

Cover

The hard cover’s dust jacket is stark white with two teens hand in hand, backs to the viewer, in yellow scrubs. With the dust jacket off, the fresh faced teens are facing forward. They both, however, are utterly miserable looking.

Characters

There is a plethora of hate-able characters in this angst- filled book–though it is difficult to separate the person from the situations they’re put into and how they survive to the best of their abilities.

Favourite

James. Some things never change.

Least Favourite

Sloane’s parents. UGH!

Beginning

Suicide is at epidemic proportions in the under 18’s. So The Program has been invented to ‘save’ at risk teens.

Storyline

Sloane’s picked for The Program; she endures and assimilates.

Ending

Things are never as black and white or clean cut as the ones in power would like.

Thoughts

I don’t know if I was in a bad head space when I started reading this book, or the book triggered a bad head space, but I do not recommend it for anyone with mental illness. It is far from a happy book, and by the end, I was ready to let my black dog catch me.

Perhaps some parts hit a little too close to home. Perhaps it was the parents and society using medications and ‘reprogramming’ instead of listening and using alternative preventative measures to treat their teens.

Quote

“I bet she looks beautiful,” my mother says. “The returners always look so healthy, don’t they Don?”

Kids help line http://www.kidshelp.com.au/  1800 55 1800

Life line http://www.lifeline.org.au/  13 11 14

 

Krista:

Cover

This cover is the perfect representation of the book. So far it’s been my favourite cover over all. The image of Lyla and James in yellow uniforms staring down a white hall represents the feeling of the book well.

Characters

Favourite

James: He showed the most emotions and things that I wanted to feel as a reader trying to identify with the characters.

Least Favourite

Sloane: I couldn’t connect with her or her family.

Beginning

Suicide rates have been rising and the school systems are implementing new programs to help them cope with the loss of loved ones but also to keep those survivors alive.

Storyline

With suicide now an international epidemic, Sloane knows her parents will do anything to keep her alive. Everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Their depression is gone—but so are their memories. The only person Sloane can be herself with, is James. They are both growing weaker, depression is setting in, and The Program is coming for them.

Ending

What I liked about the ending is that it gives us hope for the 2nd book in the series. It leaves us with the sense that there’s more out there to discover.

Thoughts

I had a hard time getting emotionally invested in a story in which all emotions are suppressed. Everything is so depressing. Mourning is not allowed and the actions that the parents and teachers take were very outlandish in my opinion. What I did appreciate about the book was the ending and the hint at an even bigger idea that could really take this story to exciting places.

Quote

“I’m so alone. It’s like being dead but still conscious.”

“It’s like I never existed. We had so many secrets together and now they’re just mine. The weight of them is too heavy for me to carry.”

 

Lisa:

Cover

I absolutely LOVE the cover on this one, for so, SO many reasons! First off, the white background: I like how it looks so clean, bright, and it makes the yellow suits REALLY stick out. Besides that, I also like that we can’t see the models’ faces. I’m just so tired of book covers where faces take over the entire thing! I feel like it ruins the character for me because the face on the cover doesn’t look anything like I imagine the character to look.

Characters

There were quite a few characters in this book that I despised, and one or two that kind of grew on me.

Favorite

This one is tough…I had such a hard time connecting with characters in this book simply because the way things worked in this world, and how EVERYONE just went right along with it, and never thought to question anything. If I REALLY (and I mean REALLY!!) had to pick someone, I would have to agree with Bel and Krista, and go with James. But I would also have to pick Sloane. Why you may ask? Because of their feelings and because they seemed to be the only ones to recognize just how wrong this entire situation is.

Least Favorite

Where should I start? Sloane’s parents? For goodness sake! Your child is being dragged away to this crazy place, which will completely wash out some of her memories! She will be stuck there for weeks under drugs. What else has to happen to her for their parental instinct to finally kick in?

Beginning

The beginning of this story and the way this society runs is what suckered me in reading The Program: a world without emotions? How is that even possible? With brain washing and lots of drugs, I guess. Sloane and James (her boyfriend/brother’s best friend) are dealing with the lost of Sloane’s brother. But that’s pretty hard to do when you can’t express any sort of grief and when there’s threat of being sent to the “looney bin.”

Middle

Sloane is picked up and brought to the program. She doesn’t know what happens inside, but Sloane does know that the people who come back from The Program are cleansed and cleared of any sort of emotion. The majority of this book follows Sloane’s journey through The Program and the difficulty of dealing with these memories she can’t remember but somehow knows, after she gets released.

Ending

I don’t actually want to say what happens in the end, but this was definitely my favourite part of the book. Like Krista said, there is a little bit of hope and insight into the second book, The Treatment. And just Bel said, things aren’t always what they seem. I couldn’t put it in any better terms than Krista and Bel did.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, the story was interesting. Some of the characters were frustrating, but a few did grow on me. I liked The Program, but I did struggle a bit getting through it. I listened to it on audio (which may be why I was struggling my way through the story) and felt that some parts were just dragged out. When Sloane was in the program, I just felt like this part took SO long, and SO many things said seemed to be repeated over and over again.

I do plan on picking up The Treatment, but before I do, I will be reading The Program in physical form again, instead of listening to it on audio.

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