Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2nd March 2010
Source: Own Kindle Copy

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.
Instead, it turns out to be her last.
Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing. -From Goodreads

I picked this up as it was my first Lauren Oliver book and it had a story that interested me, a sort of Groundhog day where the main character knows that each day she relives ends with her death. I really wanted to like this book and went into it with an open mind. Unfortunately something did not click for me.
Sam is a privileged teenager who has a sweet life. Hot boyfriend and a powerful group of friends who rule the school with Sam at the middle of it. After a party one night there is an accident which kills Sam, but this is not the end of her story as she gets the chance to come back time and time again to change her actions on the day of the accident.

Maybe I am too different from Sam, but I did not care for her and in all honesty did not care if she learned the valuable life lessons of repeating the same day over and over again. I found her to be quite fake at the start of the book, and thought that she had not grown at the end of her journey. I think this instant dislike of the main character meant that I never really invested in the book.

I have always thought that there could be a lot of mileage in the repeating days story, I mean I am a fan of Groundhog Day! For some reason in this book I found the storyline to be slightly dull and predictable. There was a real focus on certain things on the first day which you knew would be changed or manipulated later on during one of the repeating days. I like a bit of unpredictability in my stories. Once it was obvious that this was what was happening I felt there was little point in finishing the book (I did though as I hate leaving books unfinished!).

Following on from that, I was hoping for a really interesting ending, and while there were details in the ending that made me go "oh, that's how it fits together", I still felt the ending was very unsatisfying. I was left with a slight feeling of disappointment. I have not read any of Lauren Oliver's other books, but I will be giving Delirium a try as I do think that potentially the only reason I did not like this book was because I could not gel with the main character and that made the rest of the story fall apart for me.

Review: Private by Kate Brian

Title: Private
Author: Kate Brian
Published: 5th February 2007
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books
Series: Private #1
Source: Own Copy

Tradition, Honor, Excellence...and secrets so dark they're almost invisible Fifteen-year-old Reed Brennan wins a scholarship to Easton Academy -- the golden ticket away from her pill-popping mother and run-of-the-mill suburban life. But when she arrives on the beautiful, tradition-steeped campus of Easton, everyone is just a bit more sophisticated, a bit more gorgeous, and a lot wealthier than she ever thought possible. Reed realizes that even though she has been accepted to Easton, Easton has not accepted her. She feels like she's on the outside, looking in.
Until she meets the Billings Girls.
They are the most beautiful, intelligent, and intensely confident girls on campus. And they know it. They hold all the power in a world where power is fleeting but means everything. Reed vows to do whatever it takes to be accepted into their inner circle.
Reed uses every part of herself -- the good, the bad, the beautiful -- to get closer to the Billings Girls. She quickly discovers that inside their secret parties and mountains of attitude, hanging in their designer clothing-packed closets the Billings Girls have skeletons. And they'll do anything to keep their secrets private. - From Goodreads

So it is no secret that I love a good story set in a privileged school, and let face it there are masses to choose from, all with their own unique take and spin. So I was incredibly excited to read  this book even if there was not a sniff of super powers or any other particular twist over and above, small town girl moves to a posh school. Also there are 14 books so far in this series so I thought it must be a good series to have so many. If this is the case then I think I am missing something.

Reed Brennan was a straight A student in her old school which helped her to get a scholarship to Easton Academy. At the Easton Academy Reed does not excel the same way she used to and quickly begins to struggle with the work. Not long after arriving Reed notices a group of girls across  from her room window. These girls are smart and beautiful and the creme de la creme of the school. They are the Billings Girls. Slowly Reed tries to get closer to the group and integrate herself into the group.

I had some issues with the main character. I thought Reed was incredibly annoying that she let Noelle, the leader of the Billings girls continue to call her "glass licker" for the whole book. I am a fairly laid back girl and my friends and I have ridiculous nicknames for each other, but even I would have cracked with that and stood up to ---. I also thought that some of the stunts she was asked to do (namely the one where she has to break into school and risks expulsion if caught) were beyond risky. When she finally does stand up to the girls it felt  to me like too little too late!

I thought that the character of Noelle, and her group of friends, were the most interesting. Noelle may have been nasty and mean, but when she demanded something, no matter how over the top, she stuck by it and followed through. Also we were treated to seeing a softer side of her at times which was a refreshing contrast. When there was no one to play up to she could be nice, and she respected her friends for standing up to her. Also in my head she looked and sounded exactly like the actress who plays Faye in the TV series of the Secret Circle.

I found there was very little to this book and actually read it in a couple of hours. I thought there was little story to this book, most of it was centred around Thomas. It could just have been that the book was setting the scene for the rest of the series and I will read the next few books to see if there is a sizzling story buried in there somewhere.

Review: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Title: Beauty Queens
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Scholastic Pres
Published: 24th May 2011
Source: Own Copy

The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.

What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program--or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan--or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again. - From Goodreads

So I wanted to read this book for a couple of reasons, firstly I absolutely love the cover and secondly I thought the story sounded great.

I remember at school Lord of the Flies was the first book we read in class that I could not get enough of. The premise of  a group of strangers being stranded on a desert island and having to fend for themselves is one of my favorites. There are so many different stories which can be explored with on top of this base storyline. What will they do for food? Is the island hostile? Will they all get along or will there be tension within the survivors? Will they be the only humans on the island? Do they have the knowledge to get everything they need to survive? Will any of them go crazy due to the situation? I could continue asking questions on and on and on... I am an absolutely massive Survivor fan.

I was expecting that Beauty Queens would feel a bit like reading Lord of the Flies, but I found that this was not the case. I felt that there was a lot more menace to the whole story with a weird alt-reality government and a wannabe president who wants to do deals with a psycho dictator who likes to dress as Elvis. All in all it seemed far more like Lost than Lord of the Flies. I had no problem with this and I think the alt-reality lent itself to some unexpected story twists.

So the deal with the alt-reality is that there seems to be a single overseeing body called The Corporation who are kind of like a national puppet master. They seem to have control over most things including pharmaceuticals, beauty products, clothes, weaponry etc... The story is interrupted every so often with "Commercials", which often made me laugh out loud, for products, programming or facts about the surviving Beauty Queens. I also got the impression that within this society there was massive pressure for women to conform to what is perceived as beautiful and that men could do as they liked.

I really enjoyed this book and by about halfway through some of the characters which had annoyed me to begin with had grown on me and I was rooting for them all. For me the real enjoyment in this book was the details, like the boy band song titles, or some of the male characters who were introduced later on in the story, however at times this could slow the flow of the story. My experience of this book may have been helped by the fact that I read most of this book on holiday lying on the beach.

Review: Frostbite (VA2) by Richelle Mead

Title: Frostbite
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: 10th April 2008
Series: Vampire Academy #2
Source: Own Copy

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose…
It's winter break at St. Vladimir's, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy's crawling with Guardians—including Rose's hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn't bad enough, Rose's tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason's got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks… This year, St. Vlad's annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.
But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price… - From Goodreads

After reading this book I feel like I want to crawl into Richelle Mead's head and wander round. She has created this amazing world with 2 types of vampires and a half breed which all interact with each other in specific ways. The Moroi are a peaceful non violent vampire who specialise in one specific branch of magic each. Due to the moroi being a peaceful race the "half breeds" also known as damphirs are charged with being the moroi's guardians. So far so good... There are then the vampires who have drained humans blood to the point of death or have been fed the blood of the Strigoi. These evil vampires only want to kill the Damphirs and Morois. Good huh!?!

Well in the second installment of this series I was pleased to see that Rose and the sizzlingly hot Dimitri still had some amazing moments. I absolutely love watching the dance that both of them preform. We know it can never happen yet both of them are itching for each other!! I also enjoyed watching the other relationships in the book play out, Rose and her mother, Rose and Lissa, Lissa and Christian, Rose and Mason and the ever charming Adrian.

This book played out in both the school and the school's ski lodge. I enjoyed this change of pace with a easing up on all the training Rose did in 'Vampire Academy' but not without the interaction with other guardians. I found this book slightly more difficult to get into as Rose had lost a bit of her "grin and bare it" attitude which she had in the first book. She seemed to complain a bit more at the start of the novel, but either she got over it quite quickly or I did, as I was soon engrossed in the story and had difficulty putting it down.

I am looking forward to the next in the series!

Review: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Title: Starcrossed
Author: Josephine Angelini
Published: June 3rd 2011

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Series: Stracrossed #1

Source: Own Copy on Kindle

Set on the island of Nantucket, STARCROSSED tells the tale of Helen Hamilton, a young woman whose destiny is forever altered when she meets Lucas Delos and tries to kill him in front of her entire high school. Which is terribly inconvenient, not only because Lucas is the most beautiful boy on the island, but also because Helen is so achingly shy she suffers physical pain whenever she is given too much attention. 
Making matters worse, Helen is beginning to suspect she’s going crazy. Whenever she’s near Lucas or any member of his family she sees the ghostly apparitions of three women weeping bloody tears, and suffers the burden of an intense and irrational hate. She soon learns that she and Lucas are destined to play the leading roles in a Greek tragedy that the Three Fates insist on repeating over and over again throughout history. Like her namesake, Helen of Troy, she’s destined to start a war by falling in love. But even though Lucas and Helen can see their own star-crossed destiny, they’re still powerfully attracted to each other. Will they give up their personal happiness for the greater good, or risk it all to be together?

Recently I had been having a bit of a reading slump. I won't go so far as to say I had lost interest, I was just having difficulty motivating myself to sit, read and enjoy it. Then this book came along...

I was excited even before starting it. I bought this shortly after midnight on the day of release and started reading it a couple of minutes later (I love my kindle!). This book was already a winner in my eyes, with Greek mythology and starcrossed lovers, I knew it would not take me long to read. I had read a few reviews which compared it to twilight. I could see the similarities, single father raising his daughter, a family full of beautiful teenagers with special gifts and the main characters struggling with their feelings for each other.

I liked the writing style and found it a very easy read. Written in the third person you are swept along with the story very quickly and there was some really well rounded secondary characters. Helen is a very quiet and shy girl who tries her hardest to keep herself under the radar. When the Delos Family move to her small sleepy island there are parts to Helen she can't help but keep hidden. Helen's talents start to grown and manifest within herself even if, in the past, she has ignored them or passed them off as something else.

The Delos family are special and I think that they were wonderfully written. Again as the reader you only get introduced to the abilities of this family bit at a time. For me the "slow reveal" is what keeps me reading. You are constantly being given tiny bits of information, like a nickname or a throw-away comment, from the family that keeps you wanting to read on and find out what they were referring to.

As far as the plot goes, It was well thought out with a good final challenge (as all these books have) which I felt was not rushed or glossed over. HOWEVER... there were tiny things which would be mentioned and it made me want to shake the characters and say "did you not just hear that? Are you stupid?" and a little plot twist that made me go "Seriously!! What!! No!! Yuck ewww...".

So overall I really enjoyed this book. There was enough Greek mythology sprinkled throughout to feed my love. Saying that it was not too much that I get bored reading about the past desperate to get back to the story in the present. I can't wait for the next books in the series to come out so that I can read them in one sitting too!!

Review: Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

Title: Where I Belong
Author: Gwendolyn Heasley
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: 8th February 2011
Source: Own Copy on Kindle

Meet Corrinne. She's living every girl's dream in New York City—shopping sprees at Barneys, open access to the best clubs and parties, and her own horse at the country club. Her perfect life is perfectly on track. At least it was. . . .
When Corrinne's father is laid off, her world suddenly falls apart. Instead of heading to boarding school, she's stripped of her credit cards and shipped off to the boonies of Texas to live with her grandparents. On her own in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back to the life she's supposed to be living. She doesn't care who she stomps on in the process. But when Corrinne makes an unlikely friend and discovers a total hottie at work, she begins to wonder if her life B.R.—before the recession—was as perfect as it seemed.

Corrine is a very unlikable character at the start of this book. She is a character straight out of gossip girl, spoiled, privileged and she thinks the world revolved around her. So that news that her family has lost almost everything through a bad deal and the recession is a devastating blow to Corrine. She handles this news exactly how you think a spoiled brat would take the news that she has to leave her friends and life in Manhattan and move to a small town in Texas. Throughout the course of the story Corrine develops into a more like able version of herself. I like that as a character she does not completely change and do a 180 from spoiled brat to voluntary worker, but evolves into a more tolerant and open version of herself.

I live in the UK and therefore I don't know what a small town in Texas is like but from the descriptions given in this book I can't wait to visit. I loved this book from start to finish. Even when Corrine was not the most like able person you couldn't help but cheer her on. The story also made this very east and quick to read and extremely hard to put down. The only thing I was disappointed about was the ending felt very blunt. It felt like there were a few decisions left up in the air. It made me feel like I was missing a final chapter. This might just be me but I prefer to have everything wrapped up by the last word, however this did not ruin my enjoyment of the book as I can let my imagination run wild.