This is the first book in Meg Cabot's 1-800-Where-R-U series. This is a series for young adults and is paranormal, other than that it follows a similar story line to other books by Cabot, the protagonist is balanced by a quirky group of family and friends, I have to say this is one of my favourite series by Meg Cabot.
When Lightening Strikes, follows Jess a teenage girl with some serious anger issues who one day on the way home from school gets struck by lightening, from this she acquires the ability to find missing children. Jess starts off helping to find the missing children on the milk cartons but soon she draws suspicion and the government gets involved.
I love that in this series Cabot developed the supporting characters such as Jess's best friend Ruth. Who is a sweet girl who always has Jess's best interest at heart. Then Rob, who Jess has a massive crush on who is so similar to Jess: both have anger issues, protective of the people they love and are extremly hot-headed makes them hilarious together.
When Lightening Strikes is a completely original story line that is also filled with intense action scenes as well as hilarious ones!
Monday, 4 June 2012
Review: Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot
This trilogy by Meg Cabot is a very nice light read, with a to be expected plot and at times frustrating characters but sometimes it is nice to read a predictable book. I am obviously a HUGE fan of Meg Cabot's books but this isn't one of my favourites.
Like most of Meg Cabot's books this is a light, fluffy read. It follows a girl called Lizzie who is a wedding gown "refurbisher". In the trilogy there are lots of facts about wedding traditions through the ages and what gowns represent and what dress designs people are suited to. An interesting fact I learnt was that bridesmaids all wear the same color because it was meant to ward off evil spirits, and that their purpose was to protect the bride from evil spirits. Lizzie is engaged but obviously to the wrong guy, since she is in love with her finances' best friend, Chaz.
The reason I don't particularly like this series by Meg Cabot is because of the characters. I found Lizzie extremely unlikable since she is beyond words of annoying and cares wayyyy to much about looks. Chaz on the other hand was more likeable but there is nothing about him, he seems to be written to be just an object of Lizzie's love/ hate/ confusion. I was really annoyed with Lizzie because she knows she doesn't love Luc, her fiance but she doesn't call the wedding off since she seems pretty keen on his money.
My favourite part in this book has to be Lizzie's Grandmother's funeral, WAIT READ ON, I don't mean it like that, Lizzie's Grandmother is definitely not one to bake cookies for her grandkids. At her formal Christian funeral [which Lizzie knew her Grandmother would hate] Lizzie read out the lyrics to AC DC's Highway to Hell. Which I could not stop laughing over.
Like most of Meg Cabot's books this is a light, fluffy read. It follows a girl called Lizzie who is a wedding gown "refurbisher". In the trilogy there are lots of facts about wedding traditions through the ages and what gowns represent and what dress designs people are suited to. An interesting fact I learnt was that bridesmaids all wear the same color because it was meant to ward off evil spirits, and that their purpose was to protect the bride from evil spirits. Lizzie is engaged but obviously to the wrong guy, since she is in love with her finances' best friend, Chaz.
The reason I don't particularly like this series by Meg Cabot is because of the characters. I found Lizzie extremely unlikable since she is beyond words of annoying and cares wayyyy to much about looks. Chaz on the other hand was more likeable but there is nothing about him, he seems to be written to be just an object of Lizzie's love/ hate/ confusion. I was really annoyed with Lizzie because she knows she doesn't love Luc, her fiance but she doesn't call the wedding off since she seems pretty keen on his money.
My favourite part in this book has to be Lizzie's Grandmother's funeral, WAIT READ ON, I don't mean it like that, Lizzie's Grandmother is definitely not one to bake cookies for her grandkids. At her formal Christian funeral [which Lizzie knew her Grandmother would hate] Lizzie read out the lyrics to AC DC's Highway to Hell. Which I could not stop laughing over.
Sunday, 3 June 2012
Review: The Spiderwick Chronicles Box Set #1-5 by Holly Black
I recently purchased the whole Spiderwick chronicles because it was at a great price and because I also remember reading it and loving it when I was little. This was a fun series, each book a short read with beautiful illustrations which I loved [and still do]. Each book also ends in a bit of a cliffhanger so I definitely recommend reading the whole series to really appreciate it.
The series revolves around the Grace siblings, twin boys, Jarod and Simon and their older sister Mallory. They had just moved into a relatives old run down house with their mum and discover their great-great-uncle's book about all magical creatures such as elves and brownies. These creatures live in the land among the humans but are invisible to the naked human eye! The creatures love to cause mischief around the house and soon the siblings find themselves in the middle of a battle because of the existence of a book that they have in their possession.
All of the kids are easy to like and to relate to. They are typical kids with their own hobbies and interests but don't think they don't fight because they do! Overall I loved this series as a kid, it had a fantastic plot with interesting characters and the story held both exciting and hilarious moments, mainly due to the excellent writing.
The series revolves around the Grace siblings, twin boys, Jarod and Simon and their older sister Mallory. They had just moved into a relatives old run down house with their mum and discover their great-great-uncle's book about all magical creatures such as elves and brownies. These creatures live in the land among the humans but are invisible to the naked human eye! The creatures love to cause mischief around the house and soon the siblings find themselves in the middle of a battle because of the existence of a book that they have in their possession.
All of the kids are easy to like and to relate to. They are typical kids with their own hobbies and interests but don't think they don't fight because they do! Overall I loved this series as a kid, it had a fantastic plot with interesting characters and the story held both exciting and hilarious moments, mainly due to the excellent writing.
Review: Jinx by Meg Cabot
I've always been a fan of Meg Cabot, so when I saw she had a new book out I knew I had to get it, even though I didn't know what it was about, relying on the knowledge that a Meg Cabot book is always good! So the next morning I grabbed jinx and spent that whole morning in bed reading it!
Being a fan of Meg Cabot and magic I was not disappointed.
This story mixes real life settings and characters with the element of fantasy making it entertaining for most teens. I didn't like Jinx's cousin, Tory but she played her role well taking her role as the evil cousin to the next level. A well rounded cast of characters that all played a great role in making Jinx enjoyable.
I heard something hilarious when someone was trying to recommend this book they said, "Four parts Anne of Green Gables and Three parts The Craft". In my opinion Meg Cabot is a brilliant writter who is able to take clichéd plots and give them a refreshing take. A great example of a stand alone novel, you will not be disappointed with the ending.
A great read if you are a girl over 12.
If you've read Jinx and your looking for something similar try these books, with reviews coming soon!
Review: The Recruit (Cherub #1) by Robert Muchamore
This has to be my favourite book in the Cherub series, this is where you see James transformed into an agent and the struggles he went through to achieve this. This is a great book for many reasons. First, there is a ton of action and it also gave a lot of training and survival tips which were really interesting and handy if I ever need them!
I have to say that this book is a breath of fresh air, with all these teenage paranormal romance novels it is hard to find a great book that doesn't concentrate on some guy that has fangs. James is a cocky kid who has anger issues which is understandable given his background: broken home, mother's dead. Although James vandalises and gets in fights practically daily he is a good kid who loves his little sister.
A great thing about this series is that the details and facts are so precise no reader can doubt that this is a real world, where children are spies who go on secret government missions yet they still act like kids. All the teasing, competition and friendship between the recruits made these kids seem real. Another great thing was that Muchamore was able to find the balance between spies and kids.
The Recruit is an entertaining, well written novel with a fantastic storyline that after reading this book you are off running to find the next one.
I have to say that this book is a breath of fresh air, with all these teenage paranormal romance novels it is hard to find a great book that doesn't concentrate on some guy that has fangs. James is a cocky kid who has anger issues which is understandable given his background: broken home, mother's dead. Although James vandalises and gets in fights practically daily he is a good kid who loves his little sister.
A great thing about this series is that the details and facts are so precise no reader can doubt that this is a real world, where children are spies who go on secret government missions yet they still act like kids. All the teasing, competition and friendship between the recruits made these kids seem real. Another great thing was that Muchamore was able to find the balance between spies and kids.
The Recruit is an entertaining, well written novel with a fantastic storyline that after reading this book you are off running to find the next one.
Review: Double Cross by Malorie Blackman
As many of you can tell I am a huge fan of the "Noughts and Crosses" series and I was a bit nervous about the fourth book since the third one ended everything nicely and left no loose ends. Double Cross was able to give the teen-romance that has been missed since "Noughts and Crosses".
I thought this was a pretty good spin off from the "Noughts and Crosses" trilogy but I was really annoyed that this book was mainly from one point of view and I was really interested to know what happened to the other characters. I felt that Blackman was picking open the ending of the Noughts and Crosses trilogy and in doing so making the ending of the trilogy not that great. The plot was great and showed that discrimination was still going on even though it is now outlawed.
A nice thing about this book was that it was not centred around the Callum/Sephy tragic love story but created a whole new story centring around Callie and Toby, but also referring back occasionally to the original characters.
This is a must read for anyone who was unsatisfied with the trilogy's ending or wants to find out what happened next, what happened to each character.
I thought this was a pretty good spin off from the "Noughts and Crosses" trilogy but I was really annoyed that this book was mainly from one point of view and I was really interested to know what happened to the other characters. I felt that Blackman was picking open the ending of the Noughts and Crosses trilogy and in doing so making the ending of the trilogy not that great. The plot was great and showed that discrimination was still going on even though it is now outlawed.
A nice thing about this book was that it was not centred around the Callum/Sephy tragic love story but created a whole new story centring around Callie and Toby, but also referring back occasionally to the original characters.
This is a must read for anyone who was unsatisfied with the trilogy's ending or wants to find out what happened next, what happened to each character.
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Review: Checkmate by Malorie Blackman
Checkmate is Malorie Blackman's last instalment in her Noughts and Crosses trilogy, the first book was "Noughts and Crosses" and the second was "Knife Edge". This has to be one of the greatest trilogies I've ever read. "Checkmate" mainly focuses on Callie's [Sephy and Callum's daughters] childhood.
A great thing about "Checkmate" was as Callie grew and various events happened her attitude changed with every event. "Checkmate" didn't cover massive issues, well not like "Noughts and Crosses" did. "Checkmate" mainly focused on the issues of love than discrimination and racism. At least in this book rights have been slightly altered and equality was on the way for everyone.
This book is basically following Sephy and Callum's daughter Callie Rose, who is trying like many teens to find her place and fit in and find out what really happened to her dad. When out of nowhere her Uncle Jake, Callum's older brother, contacts Callie, Callie falls for his charms and looks set to join his organisation the Liberation Militia.
"Checkmate" was a great read and uncovered many secrets and is a definite book to read. This book had a great ending as well, very satisfying for a reader. I could not imagine a better ending for such a tragic, heartbreaking story and I can promise you will not be disappointed.
A great thing about "Checkmate" was as Callie grew and various events happened her attitude changed with every event. "Checkmate" didn't cover massive issues, well not like "Noughts and Crosses" did. "Checkmate" mainly focused on the issues of love than discrimination and racism. At least in this book rights have been slightly altered and equality was on the way for everyone.
This book is basically following Sephy and Callum's daughter Callie Rose, who is trying like many teens to find her place and fit in and find out what really happened to her dad. When out of nowhere her Uncle Jake, Callum's older brother, contacts Callie, Callie falls for his charms and looks set to join his organisation the Liberation Militia.
"Checkmate" was a great read and uncovered many secrets and is a definite book to read. This book had a great ending as well, very satisfying for a reader. I could not imagine a better ending for such a tragic, heartbreaking story and I can promise you will not be disappointed.
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