Review: The Pledge

Title: The Pledge

Author: Kimberly Derting

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Part of a Series?: First in series

Goodreads Summary:

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

Review:

Derting had a major identity crisis while writing The Pledge. She created an unholy combination of high fantasy and dystopia with, arguably, some smatterings of pure chicklit. To be clear, genre hopping is not bad. I like it when books try to do something fun and creative. The Pledge was not particularly fun and not even close to creative.

Is this book set in an AU or what? This is the first dystopia that really doesn't explain how everything went to hell in a handbag. That possibly contributed to my growing lack of comprehension about what setting Derting was creating. I can deal with queens and royalty and what not. However, I could not get past how little was explained (or insinuated) about the origins of the dystopian society. I didn't need Derting to explicitly say, "Well, this war happened, and this government fell, and this monarchy rose, etc. etc." No, that would've been overkill. I was thinking it would've been better if the author had taken a page out of Margaret Atwood's handbook on providing just enough clues to give the reader a picture. I didn't get anything like that so I resorted to just letting myself get blasted with unintentional anachronisms. For example, Charlie wears a tunic but there are electric lights...and cars. Whoever created the New World Order in the past must've had a thing for Medieval garb. Also, can I just ask a question in general? Was this really a dystopia? Dystopias typically are based more in reality than fantasy. Even fantastic dystopias like The Hunger Games or Enclave have obvious foundations in the real world. So if Charlie's gift of tongues is magic oriented, where does that leave The Pledge? Is it wrong to tag this as a dystopian book? IMO, dystopian books should not broach the topic of magic...it takes away from the believability.

Personally, I love becoming invested in characters. I wanted to attach myself to Team Charlie so much! I've always had this little dream of becoming a polyglot (I'd learn Swahili, Korean, Russian, some obscure Arabic dialect, and Dutch), and have I ever read a book about a protagonist who could understand EVERY language in existence (can Charlie speak all languages though? I don't think that point was ever explained)? When I originally read the book summary several months ago, I practically died with excitement. Sadly, Charlie disappointed me on all accounts. First off, she is such a Mary Sue. Did anyone pick up on that? She's kind, protective, intelligent (except when it comes to the important stuff), and uber boy crazy. Apparently, she also is eerily similar to Derting's other protagonist as well...although I can't say if this is true or not since I haven't read The Body Finder. For someone so perfect, Charlie spends a lot of time internal monologuing about how unhappy she is with whatever situation she's gotten herself into. This story was completely focused on Charlie, despite the narrative switches to the other minor characters. I felt Derting included the secondary chapters as an afterthought, which really hurt the story in general because it left the supporting cast a little washed out.

Last point, I swear. Here we have a plot that had so much potential: a girl can understand languages finds out she might be the key to a nationwide revolution. Yet nothing in this book gave me a true WTF moment. Spoilers follow. Max is a prince? I got that "subtle" clue about five chapters before Charlie figured it out. Charlie's the long lost princess? That was obvious from the moment Sabara mentioned her hunt for trying to find a replacement body. Angelina can heal people? That isn't even a plot twist! That's Derting failing to introduce this concept fluidly. The tortured boy who doesn't get a name until the last paragraph in the scene is actually Aron? My question in response is who else could it be? Nothing Derting included in this book had a wow factor capable of eliciting any major emotional response.

If anything, I'd read the sequel just to see how Derting stretches the plot. But nothing about this first installment begged for a series continuation to me. 

Review: Zombiecorns

Title: Zombiecorns

Author: John Green

Rating: 4 stars

Part of a Series?: Free novella

Goodreads Summary:

 Dearest Reader, 
This is a bad zombie apocalypse novella. It was written in a hurry. It is riddled with inconsistencies. And it never quite arrives at whatever point it sought to make. But remember: The $25 you donated to charity in exchange for this steaming mess of prose will help our species shuffle along, and I hope you’ll feel warmed by your good deed as you read. Thank you for decreasing the overall worldwide level of suck, and as they say in my hometown: Don’t forget to be awesome. 

Best wishes! 
John Green 

* The book has been made available under creative commons license, so it can be acquired legally here:http://effyeahnerdfighters.com/post/2835... :)

Review:

If only this was longer! I thoroughly enjoyed Zombicorns (which isn't about Zombies and Unicorns, sadly...hence the 4 stars) and I absolutely loved John Green's style of writing. It's funny, quirky, sarcastic, and joyously self deprecating. Had Green made this a full length novel rather than a free novella, it might've even topped my list for best zombie fiction, which, granted, is a limited but quality list. 

I don't really have a full review nor can I really comment on the character development or plot pacing because Zombicorns is too short. Besides, all of that is totally irrelevant because THERE IS MAGIC CORN IN THIS BOOK! NO JOKE, MY FRIENDS! MAGIC. MIND CONTROLLING. CORN. Along with a "subtle" jabs at the government; religion; and Leeroy Jenkins, reference that made me laugh so hard my sides hurt (That was a brave move, Green. I congratulate you for outing your inner nerd). 

BUT SERIOUSLY! MAGIC. CORN.

That is all.

Review: Rot & Ruin

Title: Rot & Ruin

Author: Jonathan Maberry

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Part of a Series?: First in series

Goodreads Summary:

 In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn’t want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash—but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

Acclaimed horror author Jonathan Maberry makes his young adult debut with this detail-rich depiction of a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has fallen, the dead have risen, and danger is always imminent.

Review:

Help! I'm on a 2-star book streak! 2012 really is bad luck :(

I don't have too much to say about this particular book...I'm sure if you really like zombie books, then you will like this. Rot & Ruin isn't your typical zombie book though. It portrays those mindless bullet fodder as human beings for once! 

Maberry did several things differently than I'm used to. 

1) After humanity struggled back into semisurvival mode after the apocalypse, teenagers were made to pick jobs when they turn 15. These jobs aren't like mailman or schoolteacher. Jobs highlighted include cadaverine bottler (think zombie sweat), erosion artist, minimum wage worker who bangs on fences with sticks to attract "zoms", etc. The creativity and realism are present, but sometimes this formula doesn't equate exactly to the most compelling read. Zombie hunting is the most captivating aspect of Rot & Ruin, but for some reason, Maberry slowly guides us around town, showing us some of the more...scintillating characters in town. I especially liked the stereotypical Dumb and Dumber characters that Benny, for some reason, idolized blindly. Fun stuff. I think, for the sake of realism, Maberry detracted a lot from the first part of the book's fun adventure.

2) Bromance is a hard thing to write, especially when Benny is completely unlikeable and Tom is a self righteous idiot. I think Maberry had the right idea in creating a younger brother who would slowly come to understand his older brother while also maturing his own view of the world at the same time. It sounds good on paper, doesn't it? However, I have to say that the execution was poor. Benny and Tom's relationship slowly progressed from infuriating to boring. I knew something was wrong with their relationship when I started wishing Benny would go back to outright hating his older brother...at least it was interesting! After reading this book, I had to go watch season 4 ofSupernatural because no one has more bromance than the Winchester brothers. 

3) I just overall didn't think the plot was that intriguing. There were some interesting parts, but when I could neither root for the good guys or bad guys (both sides were utterly hopeless, I swear), my interest came down to a grinding halt. 

Honestly, I'm getting a little tired of 2 star books! 2012 is not going well for me. But I actually think a lot of people would like this book. It just didn't appeal to me personally. Try it out and see.


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Review: Shatter Me

 Title: Shatter Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Part of a Series?: First in series

Goodreads Summary:

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. 

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. 

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now. 

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. 

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting asThe Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

 Review:

Coincidence? I THINK NOT!

Mafi has created the single most coincidence-driven plot line I've ever read. 

Adam coincidentally goes to the same grade school as Juliette. They coincidentally both liked each other but never had the guts to confess. They both coincidentally have the world's crappiest parents. Adam coincidentally finds out that Juliette is held prisoner at the asylum after years of separation. Juliette coincidentally doesn't recognize Adam at first, even though later she explicitly says she could never forget his gorgeous eyes. Coincidentally, Adam is the only one who can touch Juliette without kicking the bucket. Warner also can touch Juliette without dying...COINCIDENTALLY! Kenji coincidentally finds them both after they run away. Kenji coincidentally happens to have superpowers and that's how he found them after they ran away. Juliette coincidentally happens to have ANOTHER superpower that comes in handy while rescuing Adam. EveryoneFifty two people at Omega-Whatever-It's-Called coincidentally have superpowers as well. Mafi coincidentally overuses the slash feature on Microsoft Word. 

But hey, if that's how she likes to write her books...moving on. 

I just really didn't like this book. At first it was the prose. There are a lot of metaphors and similes and analogies and, in general, a lot of literary devices. Half the time, I had to stop and reread the sentence just to figure out what Mafi was referring to. But I got over it. I actually started to warm to the author's style of writing; it's pretty, once you get used to it. However, the issues I had with Juliette and Adam never really faded. I started hating Juliette right away because she just is so negative. She has the mentality of Edgar Allen Poe without the sprinkling of poetic genius. Constantly, Juliette holds these internal monologues with herself about how craptastic her life is/was before she got sent to prison by her own parents. Then, she meets Adam, the only other person in the world who can match her for the sheer amounts of emo screen time. Since we don't get to read Adam's POV firsthand, Mafi generously let us HEAR his thoughts ALOUD in horribly dramatic love confessions to Juliette. Together, their conversations together went something like this. 

"Remember when you gave your pudding cup to that girl in fifth grade?" Adam asked. "That's when I fell in love with you for the first time! And it just hurt my soul so much because you represented the only thing that's good with this world!"
Juliette blushed (because she does that a lot) and touched Adam's cheek; their connection filled her heart with warmth rivaling the sun!
"Juliette," Adam whispered. "You complete me."
Juliette started weeping. "You had me at pudding cup!"

By the time Adam and Juliette manage to escape Warner and his cronies, I had lost all sensation in my head. This story numbs your brain because you're forced to deal with the farfetched situations Mafi sets up for her little characters while simultaneously wading through five soap-worthy confessions a chapter. It barely registered on my "plot twist" meter that the big underdog resistance movement is filled with X-Men. I knew that part of the online summary had to play in somewhere...I just wasn't expecting it to be after chapter 50.

Don't read this. I don't recommend it.

P.S. I have nothing against Jerry Maguire!

Review: Angelfall

Title: Angelfall

Author: Susan Ee

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Part of a Series?: First in series

Goodreads Summary:

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Review:

I'm fighting my snooty, good-books-cost-more-than-99-cents-on-Amazon gag reflex here when I'm giving this book 5 (technically, 4.5 but it's still a MUST READ book) stars. There are certain issues I could point out about Angelfall, but I would much rather relish the great quality of the first book I've ever read that lives up to the epic potential of angels.

I wouldn't say that this book currently fills the shoes left by The Hunger Games, but Ee's story has the potential. I'll admit that the first couple of chapters were a little hard to get through because 1) I had to get over my previously mentioned prejudice against the "bargain books" of Amazon and 2) the start of the book was pretty formulaic: Penryn's sister is kidnapped, and in the process, Penryn joins up with the beautiful angel Raffe (who obviously is going to be the main love interest). But I had to eat my words--or thoughts--because the book continued to kick up the pace from that point on. I read past midnight with a huge migraine just to finish this book, showing how addictive Angelfall is once it gets its momentum.

The characters aren't just interesting -- they're believable. Penryn and Raffe, my favorite agnostic angel, are really realistic; in other words, they are not the Mary Sue byproduct of the YA author syndrome to create the perfect protagonists. Before writing this review, I read some other ones on Goodreads, and they all commented on the dialogue. Obviously, there is that spark of wit and sarcasm we all like to read, but I actually loved the moments when Penryn failed to come up with good comebacks. I mean, realistically, don't you ever have those moments when you finish the argument, and minutes later, you come up with some witty retort that you wish  you could've used?

Another point I really liked is the angel plot line. I'm not religious so I can't say whether the mythology is accurate or not, but I think everything was presented in a way that was believable. My debate coach used to say that, as long as you spoke with confidence, you could lie as much as you want and get away with it. Let's not get into the touchy morals of that statement, but the gist pretty much fits the book's angel premise. Ee is unabashedly confident with describing her "antagonists." I use quotation marks because it seems like there is a whole new level to them than just the blackhearted beasts that destroyed the world. I'd personally like to know more about what happened when Raffe went to get his wings reattached.

Gah, there is just so much to talk about for Angelfall. And can I say, this is only the first in the series! The last third presented so many questions and not enough answers. And the ending! PLEASE, I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! 

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Review: Ashes

Title: Ashes 

Author: Ilsa J. Bick 

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 

Part of a Series?: First in series 

Goodreads summary:

 It could happen tomorrow . . . 

An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions. 

Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP. 

For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human. 

Author Ilsa J. Bick crafts a terrifying and thrilling novel about a world that could be ours at any moment, where those left standing must learn what it means not just to survive, but to live amidst the devastation.

Review:

3.5 stars but rounding up because I’m feeling generous. 

Ashes borrows heavily from other popular dystopian books like The Maze Runner and Enclave. EMP bombs knock out the world’s power and turn everyone within a certain age range into animalistic beasts. Alex and her companions have to survive this new, deadly environment while running from vicious zombiefied teenagers and geriatric grandpas with guns. 

Minus the EMP stuff (I’m disregarding whatever scientific reasonability there is behind Bick’s explanations because I know next to nothing about stuff like this), Ashes is a pretty generic survival dystopia book. But I think Bick elevates the actual story to a higher level because she has a way of making everything seem more dramatic. Ashes is the first book in the series—which I plan on continuing—which means that a lot of questions are proposed, but not a lot of them are answered. Cliffhangers plus incredibly gory details? This book practically screams “make me into a movie.” The sequencing of events is very cinematic, with intense revelations and action scenes counterbalanced with an even measure of character building. I have a very visual way of thinking, so Bick’s to-the-point writing style is refreshingly satisfying. 

I actually ended up liking the characters. The first ten chapters (they’re short) grated my nerves. Alex and Ellie were too childish and too selfish when they initially paired up together. But they both grew on me, admittedly. When Tom, the soldier, joined their mini family, Bick created a very cute makeshift family unit. 

However, the entire last third of the book (the part in the Christian-y commune of Rule) went a tad slowly for my taste. Don’t get me wrong; there were some fascinating characters living there and some key developments were brought to light. But compared to the gritty edge from the first two-thirds of the book, I felt like the Rule chapters threw off the book’s fast momentum. Furthermore, I thought the addition of a second love interest for Alex was not appropriate.Chris felt like a last minute decision. There are plenty of books that survive without love triangles, and I felt like Ashes could’ve been one of them. If anything, the development with Tom’s disappearance gave the Alex-Tom relationship the needed amount of drama without the addition of another guy.

Overall, the book has plenty of faults. But I think this is a good start to a promising series.

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See this full review @ Goodreads