Thursday, January 21, 2016

The Walled City
By Ryan Graudin
Genre: Historical Fiction
Personal Rating: 9/10

There are three rules for living in the walled city: run fast, trust no one, always carry your knife. In this lawless cage, crime and poverty run rampant. And even more terrifying--it was a real place. The walled city existed in China and was finally torn down in the 80's. It was originally a military base that turned into a breeding ground for drug circles and prostitution. While the author doesn't label this book as historical fiction, it's obvious that  did a lot of research for it. This book is written in three perspectives, three types of people who live within the walled city. Dae: running from a haunting past, looking for freedom. Mei Lee: a young girl who's trapped in a brothel within the city. Jin Lee: a young girl searching for the sister stolen from her.

 I really enjoyed this book. I'm not a huge fan of alternating perspectives in books, but in this book it's done really well. It's a fast paced and heart wrenching story. One of the characters has a huge secret that drives the entire plot, but you don't find out anything about it until half way through. Because of that I had a hard time really getting into the story. Secrets and mystery are good in books, but in this situation I think I would have preferred to know a bit more sooner. Overall, I really loved this book. Graudin has a real compelling writing style and I loved learning about such a secretive and terrifying place in history. I highly recommend it.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

All the Truth That's in Me
By Julie Berry
Genre: Historical Fiction
Personal Rating: 10/10

Four years ago Judith and her best friend disappeared. Two years later only Judith returned, permanently mutilated and unable to speak. She now lives as an outcast in her town, ignored by those who used to be her friends. She finds peace  silently pouring out her heart to Lucas, the boy she's loved as long as she can remember. But when her town is attacked, Judith has to seek help from the man who was her capture for two years. But is Judith and her town ready to face the truth of the past?

Despite how creepy this cover looks, this is actually a very beautiful book. It's written in second person point of view which is very interesting and unique. It was a very fast read and an incredibly impactful story.There isn't anything graphic in this book, despite how the synopsis sounds. I highly recommend it.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Can You Keep a Secret?
By Sophie Kinsella
Genre: Adult Fiction
Personal Rating: 6/10

This book was recommended to me by a friend and the whole premise sounded absolutely hilarious. It's about a girl named Emma. She goes on a business trip to Scotland and encounters disaster on the way home. When Emma's plane experiences extreme turbulence, she's sure she's about to die. And so she spills every last one of her secrets to the stranger sitting next to her. The plane eventually makes a safe landing and Emma goes off, expecting never to see the man on the plane again. Until she goes to work and discovers that the man is her new boss.

Overall this book was really hilarious, however, I found that my expectations fell short. There was an extreme amount of unnecessarily language in this book that really annoyed me. I also felt like there was a lot of unnecessary fluff that made the story drag on. I wished I was a bigger fan of Sophie Kinsella's writing, but so far I haven't been incredibly impressed.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Dangerous Lies
By Becca Fitzpatrick
Genre: Young Adult Thriller
Personal Rating: 10/10

I have been waiting to read this book for so long! Becca Fitzpatrick is one of my all time favorite authors and this is her newest novel that actually came out mid November, but I haven't been able to get my hands on a copy until now. I love Becca Fitzpatrick's books because they are exciting, fun, scary, intense, and pretty much anything else you could want in a young adult novel. This one did not disappoint.

Stella Gordan is in the Witness Protection Program. Stella isn't even her real name, it's a name the government gave her, along with a completely new identity. Stella witnessed a terrible crime and is forced to relocate to a terrifyingly small down in the middle of Nebraska. Stella doesn't want to be there, but in order to remain safe he has to completely give up her old life. She doesn't plan on being in Nebraska long, nor dose she plan on caring for any of the locals. But then their's Chet--the
neighbor who becomes the closest friend she's ever had. And Carminia--her course but loving guardian. But as Stella grows for comfortable in the small down, the danger from her past begins to catch up with her.

Overall, I adored this book. The main character bugged me to no end at the start of the novel but she grew and changed so much by the end--exactly what I like to see in a character. The author did an amazing job painting the picture of small town life in a place like Thunder Basin, Nebraska. The plot isn't as scary or mysterious as her previous work--like Black Ice--but I overall was not disappointed in the story, the setting, the characters, or the overall writing. It was a wonderfully entertaining read.