Mainstream-Mini Review: Icons By Margaret Stohl

Icons By Margaret Stohl

Published 2013 By 

Little Brown Books for Young Readers

"Your heart beats only with their permission."

Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting.

Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside -- safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid.

She's different. She survived. Why?

When Dol and her best friend, Ro, are captured and taken to the Embassy, off the coast of the sprawling metropolis once known as the City of Angels, they find only more questions. While Ro and fellow hostage Tima rage against their captors, Dol finds herself drawn to Lucas, the Ambassador's privileged son. But the four teens are more alike than they might think, and the timing of their meeting isn't a coincidence. It's a conspiracy.

Within the Icon's reach, Dol, Ro, Tima, and Lucas discover that their uncontrollable emotions -- which they've always thought to be their greatest weaknesses -- may actually be their greatest strengths.

"Bestselling author Margaret Stohl delivers the first book in a heart-pounding series set in a haunting new world where four teens must piece together the mysteries of their pasts -- in order to save the future."

~ MY REVIEW ~

Icons is a great read. Intense and uplifting, with everything you crave in a good YA novel. I enjoyed this much more than the Beautiful Creatures series. It just has that 'something special' feel to it. Perhaps it was the distinct dystopian aspects that drew me in. That exciting rush of siding with the rebels. Could be any number of things, but this story will definitely keep you reading. Of course, like many books, I found the last quarter to be the best. I breezed through it, and it was over much too soon. The first half was predominatly world building and setting the stage for much grander things, but equally as engrossing. With all the conspiracy theories and secrets that keep popping in, you'll be doing a lot of guess work. Our four MCs, the Icon Children, each stood out in their own way. They grew into themselves as the story progressed and really made it complete. I'm a big Lucas/Dol fan, although my appreciation for Lucas came much later. They're so different, yet fit together nicely. I'm excited to see this has already been adapted for film, and hope there is a movie in the works. This is a promising series, and in my opinion, will work much better for the big screen than Beautiful Creatures did. So, in short, highly recommend Icons!

Mainstream-Mini Review: Sweetness of Salt By Cecilia Galante

The Sweetness of Salt By Cecilia Galante

Published 2010 By Bloomsbury Childrens

Julia just graduated as her high school valedictorian, has a full ride to college in the fall and a coveted summer internship clerking for a federal judge. But when her older sister, Sophie, shows up at the graduation determined to reveal some long buried secrets, Julia's carefully constructed plans come to a halt. Instead of the summer she had painstakingly laid out, Julia follows Sophie back to Vermont, where Sophie is opening a bakery—and struggling with some secrets of her own. What follows is a summer of revelations—some heartwarming, some heartbreaking, and all slowly pointing Julia toward a new understanding of both herself and of the sister she never really knew.

~ MY REVIEW ~

I've been in a contemporary mood lately. Maybe because Summer is just around the corner and good weather is perfect for digesting some slices of life. I happened upon The Sweetness of Salt and was intrigued by the title. I'm a sucker for catchy titles. This book turned out to be a step away from a tear jerker, one that I finished in a single reading session. The big secret the blurb on the back cover hints at isn't so much one thing as an accumulation of many. This is a story about a family that needs mending, and a girl searching for the truth. Our MC, Julia, suffers from what a lot of adolescents do as they embark on their college journey. She suddenly realizes she's not sure what she wants to do, or why she picked the path she was on. This insecurity is furthered by the fact that some serious family secrets are bubbling up to the surface and that the distance between her and the boy she loves has reached an all time high. This story is a great reminder that no family is perfect, no matter how glossy the cover appears. However, I was a bit disappointed at the anticlimactic feeling I got from the "big reveal." The truth Julia saught wasn't as dark or embellished as I was expecting. Yet that's probably what makes this a decent story. It's extremely real and relatable. I know this book has received mixed reviews, but if your a fan of contemporary writing, you will like The Sweetness of Salt. It makes you think and you'll find a fondness for Julia and her sister.

Cat Thursday #13

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats!

Hosted by THE TRUE BOOK ADDICT

The kitties are here! Two Fridays ago Ponyo had her babies.

There are five of them, three girls and two boys. 

Indie Review: Cat Girl's Day Off By Kimberly Pauley

Cat Girl's Day Off By Kimberly Pauley

Published 2012 From Tu Books (An imprint of Lee & Low)

"Find out what happens when the kitty litter hits the fan..."

Natalie Ng’s little sister is a super-genius with a chameleon-like ability to disappear. Her older sister has three Class A Talents, including being a human lie detector. Her mom has laser vision and has one of the highest IQs ever. Her dad’s Talent is so complex even the Bureau of Extra-Sensory Regulation and Management (BERM) hardly knows what to classify him as.

And Nat? She can talk to cats.

The whole talking-to-cats thing is something she tries very hard to hide, except with her best friends Oscar (a celebrity-addicted gossip hound) and Melly (a wannabe actress). When Oscar shows her a viral Internet video featuring a famous blogger being attacked by her own cat, Nat realizes what’s really going on…and it’s not funny.

(okay, yeah, a frou-frou blogger being taken down by a really angry cat named Tiddlywinks, who also happens to be dyed pink? Pretty hilarious.)

Nat and her friends are catapulted right into the middle of a celebrity kidnapping mystery that takes them through Ferris Bueller’s Chicago and on and off movie sets. Can she keep her reputation intact? Can she keep Oscar and Melly focused long enough to save the day? And, most importantly, can she keep from embarrassing herself in front of Ian?

~ MY REVIEW ~

This is a quick and entertaining read. Both contemporary and sci-fi at the same time. It's what high school would be like if people with super powers coexisted with the normies. Our protagonist is a quirky girl, bottom rung on the high school food chain, who can talk to cats. Not an overly flashy Talent, but one that proves its worth. I do love cats, and this story let's you in on a cat's secrets. Definitely humorous, and adds something extra to the story line. (Especially if you're a cat-thusist!) I LOVED all the main cats in this story. The MC is accompanied by two, equally as quirky, best friends, who each have their own role to play. They reminded me of my own band of friends from school days. Together they take on quite the interesting antagonist, who has impersonated a very well known blogger. Fun and upbeat is probably the best way to describe Cat Girl's Day Off. It's light-hearted and kept me reading. However, if you're more into dramatics and extremely layered plots, this is probably not for you.  But I would classify it as a perfect, "take your mind off things" kind of read. It's exceptionally fun and just an all around great example of what YA is all about. Definitely different, and I like different.

Mainstream-Mini Review: Spellcaster By Claudia Gray

Spellcaster By Claudia Gray

Published 2013 By HarperTeen

When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to it than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in her new town. Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that his family is cursed - and that curse will cause him to believe he’s seeing the future … until it drives him mad. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl—Nadia—from a car accident come true, he knows he’s doomed. 

Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his family’s terrible curse, and to prevent a disaster that threatens the lives of everyone around them. Shimmering with magic and mystery, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray’s new novel is sure to draw fans of the Hex Hall and Caster Chronicles series, and fans of the hit CW TV show The Secret Circle.

~ MY REVIEW ~

Whewww! This book truly makes me appreciate the paranormal romance genre! Spellcaster is captivating and a definite page turner. I started Gray's Evernight series and didn't really get into it. But this book sucked me in from the first chapter, with its relentless pace and intriguing magic. When Nadia moves into the town of Captive's Sound she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for. She feels the magic as soon as her family crosses into its limits. And she also meets the boy that will change everything for her. Mateo. Oh man. Totally loved their romance. Complicated and intense, just couldn't get enough of it. Which is why I'm hoping there is more to this story. It is left with the possibility of a continuing series. So many things are unresolved, not in an overly frustrating way, but things that definitely deserve answers. Oh, and the badass sorceress antagonist, yea she's not quite out of the picture either. This cast of characters is well rounded, strong and weak at all the right moments. Readers will easily connect with each one. Spellcaster reminded me of L.J. Smith's Secret Circle series, but with a stronger plot. If you're into paranormal romance I highly suggest picking this up. It's one you won't want to out down.