The Turning Book 1: What Curiosity Kills by Helen Ellis

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's website:

Nobody can know your secret.

Nobody can know your power.

But if nobody knows who you are to begin with...what's stopping you?

I whisper, "What's so special about me all of a sudden?"

Nick says, "The Turning."

Mary feels different, but can't explain why. The fainting, the strange cravings...and worse, the things she's noticed about her body.

Mary doesn't know where to turn. If she tells her parents or her sister, she'll risk losing everything. She has no other family, no way of knowing if what she's going through is normal. Everyone she's ever known and loved could reject her...

Review:

Lately it seems that when it comes to books published by Sourcebooks and me it's either a hit or a miss, and sadly enough What Curiosity Kills was the later of those two.

When What Curiosity Kills first landed in my hands I'll admit that I squealed a bit...well maybe more than a bit. The cover was stunning, the premise seemed intriguing, and Ellis's wrote a highly acclaimed novel prior to this, leaving this book to have endless possibilities of amazing coming my way, so I dived right in, eager to see if this book leaved up to my exceptions.

And at first it did. The characters, while never fully developed, still had my full attention, as did the plot. Though as What Curiosity Kills continued it also started to loose my attention bit by bit with every passing chapter, leaving this to ultimately be a book I had trouble finishing.

Don't get me wrong, I did like the characters. Mary, a girl who has never truly felt at home in her own skin, especially with her new ability, was someone who I rooted for in many different situations. Since from her getting the boy of her dreams to overcoming her abilities there truly wasn't a time when I didn't want her to get the best of both worlds. Also I truly felt sadness to what Mary, as well as Octavia, had gone through previously as foster children, but happiness for the happy, loving family they now had. The secondary characters were interesting too.

Though there was just something missing with the characters, in my opinion, and that was development. Sure I knew who they were on the surface but as the reader I never truly felt that I really knew them personally; I was more like a passer-by, even with Mary.

The premise was no doubt exciting and something new and thrilling. I mean turning into a cat? That's something you never see too much of. Though sometimes the whole turning business got to be a too much for me personally. I'm sure others will not have this problem but it was a big one for me when it came down to my overall enjoyment of What Curiosity Kills. Adding to this, I never was a big fan of Ellis' writing since it often felt that there was never a great balance between dialogue and descriptions. 

While What Curiosity Kills had it's faults and was a book that I didn't mesh well with, I still have a feeling that it will find a fan-base within some people out there, so hopefully if you're going to give this one a chance, you're one of them.

And the biggest question of them all: Will I be reading more Ellis? Well, that's one thing I'm as yet undecided on, so maybe, just maybe. Since, as anything like this goes, I could truly end up loving her next book...or not.

Grade: D

What Curiosity Kills is now out!

Source: Publicist at Sourcebooks

Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser

Summary/Image from Publisher's Website:

Str-S-d-

I’ll begin with Lucy. She is definitely first on the list. You can’t believe how it feels to be in the cafeteria and turn around and there she is staring at me like I’m some disgusting bug or vermin. Does she really think I WANT to be this way? I hate you, Lucy. I really hate you. You are my #1 pick. I wish you were dead.

The day after anonymous blogger Str-S-d wishes the popular girl would die, Lucy vanishes. The students of Soundview High are scared and worried. Especially frightened and wracked with guilt is Madison Archer, Lucy’s friend and the last person to see her the night she disappeared.

As days pass with no sign of the missing girl, even the attention of Tyler, an attractive new student, is not enough to distract Madison from her growing sense of foreboding. When two more popular students disappear after their names are mentioned on Str-S-d’s blog, the residents of Soundview panic.

Meanwhile, Madison receives anonymous notes warning that she could be next. Desperate to solve the mystery before anyone else disappears, Madison turns to Tyler, but can she trust him when it becomes clear that he knows more than he’s sharing?

The clock is ticking. Madison must uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances . . . before her name appears in Str-S-d’s blog.

In the spirit of stories like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Todd Strasser updates the teen thriller for the techno age with Wish You Were Dead, the first installment in a new “thrill”-ogy.

Review:

I'm always on the search for new books to scare the living daylights out of me, so when Wish You Were Dead, a book that had a high possibility of doing so, ended up on my radar, I couldn't wait to check it out. Sadly enough, Wish You Were Dead proved to be a huge disappointment.

One of the reasons it did so was because of the lackluster characters. For example, the main character Madison always felt like an accessory used to move the story, rather than someone the author wanted you to connect to and feel their fears, needs, and desires. Also I could never really understand her liking of Tyler because he for the most part he never seemed to be quite right, I guess you would say, as well as why she felt so strong about her friendships with Madison and her boyfriend when it felt that they really were not that close. Lastly, the add on of the blogger Str-S-d often proved more questions about the person behind it than answers, something that also left me to feel disappointed.

The premise of this, as mentioned above, was something that had a lot of promise. Since I loved how Mr. Strasser included not only a narrative to the next with several main characters telling the story but the addition of blogging and other social networking, that allowed for this novel to go in many directions. This often worked to Wish You Were Dead's. Though while I did love that part, I often felt that while the mysterious atmosphere to the plot kept me reading, it never really was too scary, suspenseful, or developed in way that made it jump of the page and come to life.

In all, while Wish You Were Dead certainly had great promise and some great points, I often found it to not be for my likings. Though, while I felt this way, it may still work for some out there who are looking for a scary read to keep them tied over until their next read. And who knows, maybe they'll end up loving it; I mean some did; just not me.

Grade: D

Wish You Were Dead is now out!

Source: Good Man Media. Thanks Rebecca!

A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's website:

For months, Cass has heard her best friend, Julia, whisper about a secret project. When Julia dies in a car accident, her drama friends decide to bring the project—a musical called Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad—to fruition. But Cass isn't a drama person. She can’t take a summer of painting sets, and she won’t spend long hours with Heather, the girl who made her miserable all through middle school and has somehow landed the leading role. So Cass takes off. In alternating chapters, she spends the first part of summer on a cross-country bike trip and the rest swallowing her pride, making props, and—of all things—falling for Heather.

This is a story of the breadth of love. Of the depth of friendship. And of the most hilarious musical one quiet suburb has ever seen.

Review:

Don't you just hate it when a book you've been pining over for the last year or so ends up disappointing it you? Well, I do, and sadly enough that is what happened with A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend and me.

I've been looking forward to this book since it was titled Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad, a title I loved and still do, and after hearing the most amazing things about this, I was even more excited. So when the time came to read this, I couldn't wait to gobble it right up.
 
The beginning of this was great. I loved the premise, which had to do with Cass and her friends putting on their dead best friend's supper secret play. I loved the fact that it was altering between section titled "Now" and "Then" because you got to see what occurred before the accident and of Cass's bike trip, as well as current time. And, lastly, I loved the friendship between Cass and Julia, which was sweet and relatable, as well as the budding romance between Heather and Cass.
 
The middle, however, left a lot to be desired. Since missing was the funniness and uniqueness I loved, instead it was switched with boringness that I detested. Suddenly, I was not at all awed by Cass, nor could I find her particular likable. She was just there and, I have to say, I found her to be a bit annoying. Plus there wasn't nearly as much info about her and Julia's friendship; the plot dragged in a pace that made this novel unbearable at times; and character development was lacking. Though I did like some parts of this, such as Heather, my favorite character from this, and the messages that came with Cass's journey to find out who she was without Julia.
 
Then something particularly AMAZING happened. What was that per say? Well, the last four chapters. All of sudden my faith in this was restored. I was smiling giddily, laughing, and going "Aw!" at was happening, as well as beginning to understand Cass in a way I couldn't before.
 
If based on those and the beginning alone, I would have loved A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend, strangely enough.

And no matter how much I want to do so, I can't, sadly, so overall it was okay, not great, not amazing, not spectacular, just okay. I can see promise in Horner, even if it wasn't displayed as well as I would've liked in this novel. So even with the disappointment this brought, I still will be reading more by her, possibly.

Grade: Very, very, very low C. A D+ most likely.

A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend will be released June 10, 2010.

Souce: Around The World Tour

The Tear Collector by Patrick Jones

Summary:

Fans of urban fantasy should prepare for a new kind of vampire—one that feeds off of tears instead of blood. Descended from an ancient line of creatures that gain their energy from human tears, Cassandra Gray depends on human sorrow to live. Her job as a grief counselor at the hospital provides the perfect cover to keep this secret safe, and any time a friend needs a shoulder to cry on, she’s there. Only Cass has grown tired of living a lie and wants to live like a human, especially now that she’s found someone worth fighting for.

Review:

Going into The Tear Collector I wasn't sure what to except exactly. Since there has been an abundance of negative reviews for it. Sadly enough I'm going to have to agree with those negative reviews; because while I did personally find the Tear Collector to be an interesting book with an even more intriguing premise, it feel flat for me in a big way.

Cassandra was someone who I found extremely hard to like and sympathize with, which is odd for me because I can usually find the good in almost anyone I read about. Though, Cassandra felt like a complete alien to me, but I guess that kind of makes sense since she wasn't exactly human. Since not only was she an odd girl, but I hated how for 95% of the book she used people to her own benefit, pretending to be their friend so that she could get to their sadness in life, and in turn fed of the one thing she craved the most: tears. I get that was something she had to do in order to live, but the way in which she never truly cared about most of the people she fed off of bothered me. With saying that I did like the supporting characters, though, such as Robyn, Samantha, and Scott. All three where ones that I not only liked, but could feel sadness towards with the sad, lonely lives they were given.

As mentioned above, I did find the premise to be intriguing. I mean vampires feeding off tears instead of blood? I can't say I've heard that one before. Though while the book had an interesting feel to it that made it an easy read, at times the plot was predictable and the dialogue lacked emotion and feelings instead coming out in a clichéd type of way. With saying that I could still see promise in Mr. Jones' writing and because of that, I may give at least one of his books another try, even though The Tear Collector was pretty much a let down.

In all, The Tear Collector is a book that I don't exactly recommended because in all truth, it's far from being a gem. Though, if you are set on reading, I would highly suggest you pick it up from the library instead, and maybe, just maybe, you'll see the light in it that I unfortunately did not.

Grade: D+

Source: Anna at Blommsburry for review. Thanks Anna!

The Tear Collector is now out.

Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman

Summary:

Looking for a new beginning after a terrible mean girl past, Charlie Healey realizes there’s no escaping high school drama.
Charlie Healey thinks Harmony Falls is the beginning of a whole new life. Middle school was brutal. But high school is Charlie’s big chance to start over and stay out of drama, except that on her first day she runs into Will, her ex–best friend, who had moved away. Now a varsity athlete and hotter than Charlie remembered, Will hangs with the crowd running the school. But Charlie doesn’t understand their power until an innocent delivery guy falls victim to a near-deadly hazing prank.

Torn between doing what’s right and her secret feelings for Will, Charlie must decide whether to turn in her very best friend or live with the guilt of knowing what he did.
Rosalind Wiseman’s first novel for young adults is a fresh, funny, and juicy read about friendship, betrayal, and how far some will go to be accepted.
 
Review:

I really wanted to love this novel. I mean Rosalind's Queen Bees and Wannabes was the inspiration behind one of my favorite movies ever Mean Girls. Though, sadly I wasn't starstruck by this novel. Quite the opposite, actually, because I was easily bored by the lackluster and predictable plot that at times seemed like the cliché of all clichés meets an after school special.

The characters were just a total blah. Charlie was the typical "I used to be a follower of the poplars, but now I want to be a leader" type of girl and her love interest was someone who seriously needed to grow a pair and stop acting like an idiot because of peer pressure. Though, if that wasn't enough things to add to my dismay, I hated how these two characters could have been so original and awesome but were instead ran over by unoriginality.

As mentioned above, the plot was the same way. Something that while could have been awesomely amazing was just boring and didn't truly bring anything new to the table. Leaving me to think this novel is going to be run down by all the other incredible upcoming 2010 books like Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers.

Though, I did like some aspects of this novel. Such as some of the secondary characters like Michael, Sydney and Nidha who were funny. Also, the message in this one is something that should always be reiterated simply because of how important it is to not fall into peer pressure and instead become someone who can almost always do the right thing.

In all, while I do see talent in Rosalind ( Seriously, her webiste is awesome because of the fact that she offers advice that a lot of girls (and boys even) could relate too!) , I felt that this novel failed to show it as well as it could have.

Though, as always my review is just one in a million, so if you feel like this is something you would enjoy check it out. I mean others have loved it, just not me unfourantely.

Grade: D

Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials will be released January 12, 2010.

Source: Emily- the Director of Publicity & Brand Development- at Rosalind's website. Thanks!

Bleed by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Summary:

Over the course of a single day, the lives of ten teenagers will intersect in powerful and unexpected ways.

Among them are Nicole, whose decision to betray her best friend will shock everyone, most of all herself; Kelly, who meets the convicted felon she’s been writing to for years; and Maria, whose definition of a true friend is someone who will cut her. Derik discovers his usual good looks and charm won’t help him get the girl he really wants, while Joy, a fifteen year old waitress, hoping for true intimacy, narrowly escapes a very dark fate.

Seamlessly woven together, this collection of interconnected short stories paints an authentic portrait of today’s teen experience that is at once funny, moving, and often very haunting. (from Amazon)

Review:

When I finally obtained a copy of this last week, I was so excited. Since, I loved the concept of weaving together ten teenagers lives. Though, with Bleed I was extremely disappointed.

The characters and plot were interesting enough, but it just seemed like it was lacking. Lacking development, lacking a fast paced plot, lacking well just about everything. The characters were dull and one dimensional. Plus, you never really came to understand some of the crazy stuff they did love. For example the one girl, Kelly, goes and meets a convicted murder, a guy who KILLED his girlfriend. I know that people can go crazy when they are in love. But come on, that's not crazy, that's stupid!

Then, the plot was just boring. Since, most of the situations that the teens got themselves into were typical to began with and then they were carried out typically. Though, with saying that, I did find myself completely involved in the story for Nicole and Sean's parts.

The only other part that I somewhat liked about this book was the idea of it all. Since, most people never realize how their actions and attitude can affect people that they don't even know that well.

Over all, Laurie defiantly let me down with this story. Though, I still love her other books. So, I defiantly will be picking up her new releases when they come out, especially Deadly Little Lies. :)

Grade: D+

Bleed is now out in paperback.

The Anatomy Of Wings by Karen Foxlee

Summary:

When Jennifer looses her sister, she has no clue why this horrible thing has occurred. Her sister, Beth, was beautiful, popular, smart, and according to their grandma, could talk to angels. Plus, now that Beth is gone Jennifer has lost her stunning ability to sing. Every time that she opens her mouth, the words just will not come out. So now with the help of her best friend, Grace, Jenny is on a hunt to figure out what went wrong with her sister. In doing this, she thinks she will regain her ability to sing. Though, along the way, she finds a few secrets that she simply can't understand.

Review:

When beginning The Anatomy Of Wings, I thought I was going to love it since the summary made it seem like it was going to be fast paced and I loved the cover. Unfortunately it was none of those things. The plot moved incredibly slow and sometimes showed little or no relevance to the main plot at hand. Also, the writing was, at times, too descriptive and had little action. For example, there is one time in this book when the author spends around seven pages describing all of Jenny's aunts and uncles who are not part of the story at all! The only part that made this book somewhat decent were the characters. They were well developed and Karen perfectly captured the feeling of their love for and loss of Beth. Though, in all, the cons out weighed the pros. Overall, The Anatomy Of Wings was a big disappointment to me. Even though, I felt that way, I still think Karen has the ability to get better over time and I look forward to possibly reading some of her future books.

Grade: D+

The Anatomy Of Wings is out now in hardback. You can find out more about here.

*Reviewed For Flamingnet

Prey by Lurlene McDaniel

Summary:

A teacher is supposed to impart a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge. It’s a bit different with Ms. Lori Settles. All the kids are talking about how hot she is–and she is especially interested in Ryan Piccoli. When she starts giving Ryan extra attention, he’s feeling more than happy–at first. He’s used to being the class clown, but really he’s a loner. One day after school, the friendship with Lori Settles goes farther than he ever expected. She’s his teacher. She’s at least twice his age. Intimacy with a teacher is wrong, yet it feels so good in every way. Soon, Lori is making demands and Ryan begins to feel overwhelmed, but Ryan refuses to even admit anything is going on. Something immoral is going on and before too long the choices made will change lives forever.

(from Amazon)

Review:

Prey was a thought provoking novel that kept me wondering throughout. In Prey a teacher goes past what she is expected to do and forms a relationship with a student. This is something that is happening in society ever day, but never had I read a book about it. In Prey, the boy is mislead by his teacher into thinking that their relationship is the real deal. Though in reality it's far from it ,and when he begins to realize it he's already in to deep, not being able to come back up for air. I felt sorry for Ryan's character at times ,because of what Lori was trying to pull him into, though he had all the chances in the world to get out in the beginning and never got got out. My favorite character and the gem of the story was Honey, Ryan's best friend. She was the most realistic one and her sections went by the most fast out of Ryan's, Lori's and hers. I eventually came to understand why Ryan did what he did, because he's a teenage boy and they tend to think with their you know what. Lori was a totally different story. She was annoying and needy, never being totally appealing. I sometimes even felt like hitting her of the head for being so demanding.

This story was alluring and a fast paced read, but I had a couple of problems with it. First off, the dialogue between the characters was so unrealistic, flowed terribly ,and sometimes sounded like a 80 year old was saying it instead of a 15 year old boy. Plus, the ending left something to be desired. Since for one Lori should have not been left off so easily. **** spoiler. don't read if you haven't read the book. Also, during the last chapter I couldn't believe what I was reading. It felt like I was back at the beginning. After that, I kind of lost have the respect I had for this book. ******* end of spoiler.

In all, I suggest Prey if your looking for a quick book to read in between books. It's definitely not a must read, though.

Grade: D

( Switching to a grade instead of a number out of 5)