The Book Geek

What to say, what to say...this was a hard to rate book; I liked it well enough, but it didn't blow me away.

Let me start with this synopsis: "Drop into the world of girls’ freestyle BMX for an action-packed summer road-trip adventure.

Josie Peters thinks she’ll do anything to qualify for the Ultimate BMX freestyle event the summer before her senior year. She can handle road trips and back flips, but when flashy rider R.T. Torres tempts her with an easy “in,” the sacrifices required threaten to send Josie spinning out of control."

The action that you think this book will be filled with? Meh, not so much. The writing doesn't convey that tension and urgency to make you sit on the edge of your seat. It's really dry, and I know I would have enjoyed this so much more had I gotten that show instead of tell. For the vast majority of this book I was aware of the words I was reading, instead of watching the story, and that's one way to make me not love a book. So many times I wanted to just throw her phone away because I was sick of hearing about her checking her messages, or other pointless phone related paragraphs just did a search, and the word phone is mentioned 93 times. Here are a couple of random examples of the dry and boring writing (in no particular order):

"Even though it was only eight in the morning, the air was heating up. I unzipped my hoodie while riding no-handed."

"I wrote back to Lauryn and Alexis telling them it looked good and I'd finalize our filming plan for Thursday. After printing out my final version of the itinerary and logging off the computer I went to my room to strategize."

"Four phone messages had come in while I'd been sleeping."

"Gianna came into the living room with her boyfriend Bruce trailing behind her, checking messages on his phone."..."Bruce didn't look up from his phone."..."Bruce looked up from his phone."..."Bruce hugged Gianna around the waist and then busied himself with his phone again."

"After I hung up, my phone prompted me to add her to my contacts. I hesitated, but added her."

"I looked for Gianna and checked my messages before sitting."

While the writing was really weak for me, the feminist message was really great. Girls don't have to be eye candy and are just as capable as boys, if only they're given a chance. Josie was very down to earth in this regard, and I like that about her. However, she makes a lot of comments about how her older brother is the favorite and her parents move heaven and earth to attend his sports functions (and just basically how he's more loved--though in fairness, she doesn't exactly whine, just brings it up--did that make sense?), but this didn't sit well with me since her parents were good parents. They were very involved, and hesitant about, with Josie's road trip, wanting to meet the girls and their parents, her mom got super involved in the clinic Josie planned, they made a welcome home celebratory party with banner (that Josie said only ever had Troy's name on it), and things like this. They were a team and seemed to be very loving and normal, which I liked, but the contradiction Josie liked pointing out made no sense for me. She tried to justify it a couple of times, even going so far as to say they were discriminating against her and her mom agreeing, but again, it just didn't sit right.

I'm also left with some questions about the majority of the characters. What was the deal with Lauryn's family, and what was the point of even having it in s/l since it's never remotely resolved/explained? Why have Connor in there at all, and what were his shenanigans about--I'd liked to have seen more of him. Why didn't Troy have at least one redeeming brotherly moment in the entire story? Why was the high school principal called a dean, is that new, or just something I've only thought was for colleges? How was it Alexis could be so superficial and be such a good rider--where was her passion for the sport that made her so good to begin with that one really annoyed me.?! Why did Alexis call her mom by her first name? Why did R.T. get to be such a dick and in the end grab her and kiss her?! What was the purpose of Gianna, and her future husband (did anyone else notice the thinly veiled disdain for the housewife she was morphing into?! *"Cooking and crocheting? Was she kidding?"..."So the real her was a crocheting, cooking wife in training? I opened my mouth and shut it again."*)?

Now for some quotes I liked, because pointing out the issues I had with this is bringing me down:

"I loved letting people underestimate me and then showing them how wrong they were."

"I'd had my driver's license for over a year, but I still preferred riding whenever possible."

"I rode to not think about anything. When I was into it on a good day, it was almost like being disconnected from the rest of my life. I loved it, and I needed t get it back." /scene for a minute. I'm a cyclist, and I've been without my bike for about two weeks, and I'm dying. I really related to these feelings.

"The speed and accuracy of the mom circuit scared me sometimes."

"Whoever said that the older generation couldn't figure out computers had never met my mom and her network of mom spies. To them, the internet was a gold mine of information about us."

In closing, this isn't a bad book, and I like the message the author was sending out, but it wasn't strong enough for me to really fall in love with the characters like I'd hoped. I think this is a good filler book, and definitely a great book for young girls to read.

One more

Defaulting to 5 stars because this is a book from my childhood. I cut my teeth on R.L. Stine and have always thought back to these books with a smile. This was such a fun step back in time too! Things are so different now. :/

I didn't end up finishing this, because I gave it to my son to read and I picked up my adult book, lol, but I still love this series--how could I not?!

I read this long ago, and have since reread it several times. I love this book. :)

I read this a long time ago, and liked it well enough (I default to 3 stars for really old reads, or before GR), but I stopped at this book, and ended up including them in a yard sale, so I wasn't attached to the series. Clearly.

I read this a long time ago, and give 3 stars as a default when this happens.

I read this a long time ago--3 stars is my default in these situations, unless it was spectacular.

4 1/2 Stars!

Danielle Monsch, were you reading my mind when you decided to write this?! You must have been because this book has everything I need to make me love a story! Badass characters, humor, shmexy men, shmexy women, intelligent main characters, sex (wink wink), and a world that I want more and more from.

The story starts with the human realm and magic realm colliding, and suddenly there are mythical creatures running amok in the streets! Orcs, werewolves was Wulver the were that helped Jack?! That was never clear to me, and more all suddenly show up and it's utter chaos in the streets. All Jack Miller is trying to do is make it to the hospital where his wife was in labor when the world turned on it's head, and once there he finds out that his fifth child is their only girl, but that he'll no longer have his wife around to help raise her.

It's been 26 years since the Great Collision (for the record, Ris' age is one of the other things I loved), and Larissa has grown up ignorant of the mystical races now sharing the world with her. She's a history teacher in a human-only city, and her father and brothers have always been exceedingly overprotective of her. In her desire to not upset her father she never questioned not leaving the safety of the city, or learning about the other races. Until the zombie attack.

There's really nothing not to like about the characters in this story. Larissa is really level headed, and pragmatic, Terak is sensitive alpha male, Fallon is fucking amazing, and the support cast all managed to pique my interest.

I've decided to add Terak to my list of boyfriends, and I know it sounds odd to add a gargoyle, but just wait, he's all kinds of yummy in that shifter-alpha way so many of my men have. He's no Curran or Barrons, but who is?!

Fallon needs to have her own series. She reminds me of all the long series' heroines I adore: Kate Daniels, Rachel Morgan, Sookie Stackhouse, Allie Beckstrom, well you get the idea. I would love to have series as long as those ones featuring Fallon. There's a ridiculous amount of story that this world can produce, and I love it!

Now, with all this praise, be aware that there are mistakes in this book. A lot of minor editing mistakes that should have been caught, but they're not enough to detract from the story, just enough to distract your eyes while you're reading. So that is annoying, I know, but my love of the story allowed me to not get very hung up on them. However, this was a copy from Netgalley and I don't think the version you would buy from a retailer would have these mistakes.

This story is all about family, adventure, love, sacrifice, and making your own path in the world. It was a really fun ride to take, and I can't wait to see what else is in store for me in the amazing world Monsch has brought to life!

Bell's review and Ade's review have multiple links to see why this guy is horrible.

Because Wendy's review.

There's no way I'd support this author. Ever. Here are only a few links even though there are a plethora of examples of her bad behavior (there are multitudes of links throughout the comments if you want to follow).

Sophia's review --the one that first brought this book to my attention.

Lucy's review.

Ceilidh's review.

Because of this.

This book was given up at 20% into it, and I'm surprised I made it that far. Instead of writing about an overall take on the book, I'd like to break it down piece by piece as I had highlighted parts that made no sense. Wow, for not making it very far in the book, I've got 19 pages of notes on the kindle. Shall we begin?

"I grew up in the forest. I know every path, and the position of every tree and bush." (7%)
"I wrap my hand around Eland's sapling-thin arm--roots and creeping weeds on the forest floor have sent me sprawling more often than I want to remember." (1%)
"I might be terrified and disoriented, but I don't need a Lofty to give me directions in the forest." (8%)

I didn't really care for Fenn by the time I stopped, and it all started with those examples. She was born Sightless, and at first I was in complete understanding of her having fallen in the woods (even though it wasn't clear about when in her life falling was an issue), but then she goes on to be a jerk about knowing everything, and I'm like, oh-you're spechul, that's right. She flipped from being nervous about not having a guide in the woods, to being some kind of pace counting baddass. My first thought when she mentioned the falling, was how in the hell are you supposed to be the only person capable of getting water if you can't keep from falling?

She talks about how there are a million thoughts in her head (when she first goes to get the water) about sounds, smells, scary stories, memories of the creatures screams, all while apparently keeping the pace count in her head, and then adds singing to all that. And keeps count. Because it's the counting that she uses to navigate; which I'm not saying isn't logical, just that the cacophony in her head makes it harder to believe she wouldn't lose count.

Moving on!

"When a boy asks a girl my age, seventeen years, to dance at the Summer Solstice celebration, it usually means he's singled her out as his partner--for life, not just for the dance."(2%)
(Talks about her lifelong friend and then) "But...maybe I'm just not ready to partner."(2%)
(talks about her hair) "--and a thrill runs through me. I wonder if I'll be asked to dance tonight." (2%)
"It can't hurt to look my best"(2%)
""I don't want to be the only one not asked, you know?"" (Callie)(2%)
"I do know, although I think I'm more willing to suffer the humiliation of not being asked than to agree to partner for life with whoever might feel like asking me today."(2%)
""Maybe it's time for a new tradition.""(4%)(Fenn says--as she goes to greet the Lofties that come every year to the Solstice Celebration)
"There's no rule against dancing with them, but that's only because no one has ever tried. Aloe--not to mention the rest of my people--might be furious with me. I decide I don't care. At least I'll have made my own choice."(5%)
""Peree? Would you like to dance?" He doesn't say anything. I bite my bottom lip. "You know, dance? I'm not bad, really. I won't even step on your feet much."(5%)

Sigh. So many things about this annoy me that I almost don't even want to talk about them. If she didn't want to partner with her friend, who was hinted at being the guy to ask her to dance, then why would she ask her new Keeper and make it sound like it was only a dance?! How did anyone learn to dance at all since the dance equaled marriage, lol. The whole thing was just too much of a contradiction to satisfy me, and Fenn wasn't a baddass in asking Peree with the information we're given. I wasn't impressed.

Now for information on those horrifying Lofties.

"All the Lofty men are named for birds, while the women have ridiculous names like Sunbeam, Dewdrop, and Mist."(5%)Eye roll. Because Fennel and Aloe are so much better.
"The Lofties usually give us more warning when the Scourge is near. It's their part of our uneasy bargain."(6%)
"And what about Peree? He's kind. Concerned. Funny, even. Things Lofties aren't supposed to be. I'm not supposed to like him."(10%)
"We don't talk much about the Exchange, either. It only reminds us why we hate the Lofties."(11%) --"Generations ago"--is when it all happened I guess.
"People with dark coloring were arbitrarily forced to the forest floor to become Groundlings."(11%)
"The fair-haired, light eyed children are taken by the Lofties to live high above the ground, in the sunlit warmth and security of their tree-top aeries. The dark babies are taken by us, to live in fear of the Scourge." I was a lofty baby, born with the wrong coloring, and without sight. I often wonder who my natural parents were. If they were relived to see me go. Raising a Sightless child in the branches of trees can't be an easy prospect.



I don't like anything about this caste system, and there isn't any other explanations up to the point that I gave up. It doesn't make any kind of sense! We have no idea what the year is, we don't know how MANY generations ago shit went to hell, and the way they have divided the people lacks all logic!! On top of that, to make it sound as though those the people wouldn't have fucking revolted pissed me off! Who in their right mind is going to think that if you're left on the ground with zombies, while your neighbor is safely away from their reach, that you wouldn't fucking change things!! We're told that the Scourge leaves, and when they're there, they only stay for a few days at a time (a week once), so what the fuck prevents the Lofties from getting their own damn water, or for that matter, why haven't either people created a damn storage system?! This chick is using bags, and a fucking sled, to gather water. Making multiple trips with the Scourge surrounding her in order to get water, and meanwhile, her Keeper is killing them but she never once trips over a dead body (he does warn her two different times about stepping to the side, but it was after she'd been standing still. There are times when she's walking and he's shooting, but magically nothing unexpected ever comes in contact with her).

I mean really. I just can't even.

The Scourge, or Fleshies, or flesh-eaters:

"They roam the forests, reeking of festering flesh, consuming anything living. People who survive the attacks become flesh-eaters themselves. Death is better."(3%)
"They only move on when they've exhausted their food source, the animals--and humans--who rely on the fresh water to survive. Groundlings have tried over the years, but we've never been able to find another source of water. It's risky to explore very far from the caves, because we never know when the flesh-eaters will come. So we're stuck, with the Lofties, with the Scourge."(6%)
"The caves are safe. The flesh-eaters don't come in..."(6%)
"The Scourge typically stays for two or three days, but they could stay longer. Sometimes even a week or more. The elders didn't speak of those times."(10%)

Tell me why the Groundlings wouldn't have just started living in the caves if that's one sure-fire way to stay safe?! Seriously?! They say they can't leave the caves until the Scourge has left, but yet the arrows that Peree shot them with kills them, so why the fuck don't the groundlings make some fucking weapons!!! Or, better yet, why haven't they made some fucking boats and taken to living on the lake since the Scourge can't swim?!

Furthermore, this bit about Fennel's protection from them made no sense to me.
"I'm supposed to be safe from the Scourge, like Aloe, but I haven't been tested. I will be soon."(3%)
"For a moment I wonder if my protection will hold, but I push the thought away.(7%)
"My protection from the creatures was confirmed, and it gave them a new respect for me."(10%)

And

"I'm not sure I'll live to see the morning after the Three discover my duplicity."(16%)
"...serious lapse in judgment that may have contributed to the deaths of several Groundlings."(18%)
"And you will spend the night in the forest, among the Scourge, as a reminder that you can either stand together with your community...or you will stand alone."(18%)

Let me get this straight--testing Fennel to see if she wouldn't be EATEN was simply finding out if...they wouldn't eat her on her way to get water the first time?! I had assumed they'd captured one and would see if it shrunk away from her or something, but no, it was 'hey girl, it's your duty now to provide water to the whole tribe, so get going, and I hope you don't die.' Dumb! Then I start wondering, well I wonder all over again, why she would be the only one to get water as a Sightless (other than Aloe, who is her foster mother, and just stepped down from water duties to become a member of the council I guess), and they clearly have no qualms about her safety. In fact, they decide to punish her having given the Lofties their water rations against their wishes, by possibly condemning her to die outside the caves while the Scourge is there?! NO FUCKING SENSE! In fact, the whole issue of them not wanting to give the Lofties their water that day was stupid. Why in the name of gawd would they want to antagonize the people they admit gives them protection from the zombies?! Fennel does ask this, which was good, but still. It didn't make sense.

To sum up my feelings in pictures...

""You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was."

I think that the synopsis is perfect and have nothing to add to it, which is why I've decided to use it in my review. I loved this book! The writing is wonderful; full of tension, some mystery, angst, humor, and pain. I wasn't even five chapters into the story before I could tell it would be a book that I'd love; it didn't have to grow on me or require me to be forgiving to enjoy it. I plan on reading whatever [a:Cristin Terrill|5767141|Cristin Terrill|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1373743906p2/5767141.jpg] puts out next, because she knows how to write a spectacular character driven story!!

It didn't take long to realize who the Doctor was that Em is so afraid of, but it did take me a minute to realize who Em was, lol. It isn't a secret that Em is going back in time to stop the creation of that time machine (it's the only one in the world as far as we know), and what I thought were two characters are actually just one. This was so horrible to experience with Em because really, what would you do to protect a younger version of yourself from such horrible events?! I teared up a few times while reading this late into the night, and though the ending was slightly too perfect for my tastes, I still wish it had been longer just so that I didn't have to let go.

Finn is on my list as one of my favorite males, and he kind of reminded me of Roar, though less platonic, lol. Marina was wonderfully realistic, and it was interesting to see how she and Em compared to each other. James...James is harder for me. On one hand I really liked his shy nerdiness, and on the other I found his evolution to be slightly hard to believe. Not that I didn't believe almost all of what he became, but the part where he keeps insisting that Em 'betrayed' him, referred to the paper she had as 'documents' that I didn't understand why he would need considering he completed his research, and what he was doing during the climax of the story...was a little much I guess. Not bad, just a little much.

If you're like me and a well written character driven story is what makes you happiest, then I can't recommend this book highly enough for you! If you like a wonderfully tense and layered plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat, then I can't recommend this book highly enough for you! If you just like good stories, then--well you get the idea.

Read this.

Stopped at 14%. I think I should read the first one.

Got this from NG not realizing it was third in a series. Got to 3% before admitting defeat that it can't stand alone.