2 dead guys, 1 goth girl, the story continues.

Kiss of Life: A Generation Dead Novel by: Daniel Waters

The second book of the Generation Dead series begins right where the first left off. With a surprise ending, I had to quickly find the second installment. I read it within a weekend and now I’m awaiting the 3rd book with baited breath (Passing Strange). Haha, ok, maybe not. But it was a really good book and I have added it to the list of books to come out in 2010. The third book comes out this summer, yet another entertainment avenue to look forward to (Eclipse in Theaters, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows installment #1, and some books to look for- Linger by Maggie Stiefvater and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins).

In the first book, I really appreciated the way the other had us reading from a few different people’s perspective. The second book caries on the way the first left off. We are not left in the dark about what the bad guys are thinking or who’s causing trouble, because we are in his mind and know what he’s doing and thinking.

Kiss of Life was a typical love triangle, one girl, and two guys battling for her affections. Usually during these love wars I can pick sides confidently, but in Kiss of Life I felt very fickle about which guy Phoebe should end up with. I changed my mind at least 3 times throughout the book, and at the end I still wasn’t sure even though Phoebe had made up her mind.

Being the perfectionist that I am, I did find a few typing errors in the book. Things like “The” instead of “They.” It’s something I could ignore, but if I wrote a book and my editor didn’t catch something like that I would be heartbroken.

I don’t have a lot to say about this book, my opinions from the first book stand true in the second. I think its well worth reading. It’s sort of sad at parts and exciting in others. Read it and let me know what you think. Are you excited about Passing Strange, installment number 3 coming out? Let me know, leave a comment!

wanna see a cool water trick?

Percy Jackson & The Olympians; The Lightning Thief by: Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson thought of himself a troubled adolescent. He was kicked out of every school he had ever attended, a trouble maker with ADHD and dyslexia. Everything changed in his life one day on a field trip to the museum, he vaporized his math teacher. From that day he realized that he was different and now all of the myths that he learned about from ancient Greece are alive and well and part of his world. All of a sudden he’s being blamed for steeling Zeus’s master lightning bolt and World War III is about to break loose on western society. Not only is all of this news to Percy, but he’s being sent on a quest to retrieve the lightning bolt and get it back to Zeus within 10 days. Before the summer solstice he not only has to find the bolt, he also has to come to terms with his father’s abandonment, the oracle’s prophecy of a friend betraying him, and find away to free his mother from Hades’ clutches. It’s a big order for 10 days, even for a demigod.

What I liked: Good Character development. I liked Percy, he’s a good kid even though he’s fallen on some hard times in his short life, he’s a fun character to follow. Riordan did a great job of describing the relationship between Percy and his mom. I felt their bond between them. She is all he has family wise since his father left and you could tell that she loved him very much. It was dynamic. I also liked his friends Annabeth and Grover. The threesome stick together even though the road is hard, heck, they go to hell and back, literally. I enjoyed the exchanges between Annabeth and Percy. They act like brother and sister and it’s a fun relationship to watch grow.

Another aspect that I enjoyed was the plot. It was well thought out and excellently executed. I could feel the danger that our heroes were in and knew that they were going to overcome their obstacles.

Last but not least there was a good pay off at the end of book one. It had the feeling of more to come, we know there is a bad guy out there and our heroes plan to stop them since the gods won’t, but there was a twist at the end of this book that I didn’t see coming. I won’t ruin it for you, but it’s not over until the last page is turned.

Things to change? Why so young? I haven’t continued to the next book, but I’m curious why the heroes are so young. I can’t see adults letting young pre-teens out on America to go talk to the god of the underworld that is across the nation. Oh well, it happened, just a little farfetched. The age might go perfect with the series, like in Harry Potter, we watch that kid grow up through the series and therefore it makes sense that he is 11 in the first book. I’m excited to see the outcome and follow Percy through the rest of his adventures. I know there is more to come, so stay tuned for another blog.

Here’s just a thought I’m having. This book is solidifying my theory that there are no new stories out there. Let me see if this sounds familiar. A trio of kids set on a mission, from the outside they look totally normal to the rest of the world, but in reality they are more different than anyone can guess. The set is made up of 2 guys and 1 girl. The girl is wise, a know it all, the side kick is the comic relief, and the hero is from a troubled family, before he finds who he really is, he’s always getting into trouble but isn’t a bad kid. The truth is revealed to him by a wizened teacher that leads him to his destiny, but doesn’t choose it for him. Stop me if you have heard this before… I’m not picking on Riordan, Percy Jackson book 1 was great. I enjoyed it and am here to say that I recommend it as a book worth reading. I’m just saying, the more I read, the more I see that there are no original ideas that we just steal little ideas from the ones that came and wrote before us (I only say us, because I really want to write some day, not today, but some day). Just a thought that I’m fleshing out. Don’t throw stones, not yet anyway.

Differences between the movie and the book, are they good or bad? Good! I hate it when Hollywood makes big changes to great books. All that to say, I’m not that upset about the changes that were made to The Lightning Thief they were good changes. I think it went to the big screen great and I was entertained throughout. It was almost a different story with the same character’s names. Did this upset me? No. I guess I just have to remember that sometimes books don’t go straight to film well they need a little help from the screen writers.

So, what did you think? Have you read book 1, the series, or watched the movie? What was your opinion? Let me know and leave a comment, it will make my day!

a gothic poem starts it all, how will it end?

Generation Dead by: Daniel Waters

A Phenomenon has swept across America, where teenagers are dying and aren’t staying dead. The “Living Impaired” or “Differently Biotic” kids are outcasts. They are loathed and feared all over the country. The Administration at Oakvale High are a little more open minded, therefore the Zombies are starting to come to the area. When Phoebe falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids, no one can believe it. Adam, her neighbor and long time friend, realizes he has deeper feelings for her than friendship, but is he too late? Has she already fallen in too deep with Tommy? Adam will do anything for Phoebe, but what if the best thing for her is to stand by and watch the woman of his dreams with another guy, a dead guy?

Adam the best friend/neighbor of the story is the guy I was pulling for. This is uncharacteristic of me, usually I pick the main character to be with the girl in the end. Tommy is the Edward Cullen, the Peeta, the Romeo. Instead I liked Adam, and I wanted Phoebe to pick Adam too. My feelings have changed quickly with the ending of the book. I can’t wait to share my thoughts on the second book, since I’ve already read it. Anyway, back to Adam. He is the friend that is always there for her. That will listen to her and is her shoulder to be cry on, Adam is her rock. Tommy is the Zombie boyfriend that should be the one we are rooting for, but there is always the question of his motives. Phoebe is constantly wondering if he likes her for who she really is, or if he likes her because it is a good political move.

What I liked: Perfect timing. This author used such grace when he presented new information. He didn’t rush into every subject within the first few chapters. He let the story flow as needed. For example, I was about half way through the book when the audience was introduced to Phoebe’s parents. At first I thought that was weird, but for a Goth girl that has friends, why would she introduce her parents to us until it was absolutely the right time? I didn’t feel like information was shoved at me within the first few chapters, I felt like we got to know the characters slowly throughout the story. Excellent writing on Waters’ part.

What I didn’t like: If I had one complaint about the book it would have to be that it is a little preachy. The story line is that there are people that are different and like it or not, they are there. We either can embrace them for their differences or we can shun them and for that reason we are not good people. I felt like the entire book we are being forced to love the Zombies just because they are different. I can understand that they were humans and now, even though dead, they are still the same person, but don’t tell me that I have to accept a group of people just because you want me to. I didn’t know if it was a Race issue that Waters’ was trying to get across or if it was just a good story that he wrote. Was this a politically charged book, or just an idea that would help the world if we embraced it in our lives? Again, I didn’t necessarily disagree with him, I just was curious about his motives.

One thing I do know is that I enjoyed this book very much. I hope that you take the time to look it up and read it. I have already finished the second book and the blog is coming. Please leave a comment or don’t, it really doesn’t matter either way. If you read the book let me know what you thought. Did you think it was awesome, or did you think that it was crazy?

Fallen Hot Angels? Sign me up!

Hush, Hush by: Becca Fitzpatrick

Everything in Nora Grey’s life is pretty normal, just a plain day of school turns her world upside down as her Biology teacher switches her lab partner from her best friend Vee Sky, to the dark silent dangerous new guy, Patch. Not only does she have to work with Patch in Biology, but she has to write a paper about him, and really get to know him. As time passes and Patch shows up everywhere that Nora is, she starts to feel like she’s being followed. Not only is she getting paranoid about being followed, she starts to feel drawn to Patch, in an un-earthly way.

While reading Hush, Hush; I was instantly drawn to the character Patch and was hooked to know more about what was going on with him. I mainly wanted to know the mysteries behind him. But as I read on, I realized that this was just another book. Nothing special. Nothing to write home about. I was right, I usually am. Like I said, while I was reading this particular book, I was engrossed, and I wanted to keep reading it. Once I was done, I couldn’t remember Nora’s name without looking it up, I couldn’t remember exactly what happened throughout the story, because it was unmemorable.

What I liked: Patch. I really liked his character, the good guy brewing underneath the hard bad boy exterior. I loved the way Fitzpatrick described the lust that was growing between Nora and Patch. There were some steamy scenes that really drew the reader in.

What I did not like: I did not like the ending. It was no surprises, just a typical ending, I guessed what was going on quite quickly. Every new character that was introduced, you could see that they were not who they said they were. Another part I didn’t like was Nora would always seem to be doing something really stupid. You know when you are watching a horror movie and you are screaming at the characters to not go into the upstairs room where the mysterious noise has just come from, but they do anyway? That was what I kept thinking during Hush, Hush, “You are going to get yourself killed out of straight idiocy.” I also didn’t like that Nora was supposed to be Ivy League material and she was described as a pretty normal straight A student. To me, the character descriptions were lacking. Another thing that bothered me was the straight blasphemy that took place within the pages. For example, how can you have a book about angels and not say a word about God. I’m pretty sure that the Angels would have had something to say about their creator, good or bad. Also the concept that an Angel could have his wings stripped by other angels and then he can get them back just by saving one humans life seems a little ridiculous, even to me and I like to read the farfetched stuff!

Over all I do think it was an okay book, I would recommend that if you like to read and want something quick and easy, it’s a good one to pick up. But just know that I would rank it around 2.5 out of 5. What did you think? Lots of people said it was one of their favorites? Did you like the book if you read it? Do you want to prove me wrong? I gave it to a friend to read, we’ll see if she read it and what she thought. Leave a comment!