The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Synopsis:In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

First line: My mother used to tell me about the ocean.

My Thoughts: I truly enjoyed this YA dystopian novel. I thought it verged on horror with the gruesome deaths and descriptions of the Unconsecrated (zombies.) I found the Unconsecrated to be creepy and the romance to be as painful as I've come to expect from YA romance. The setting reminded me of the movie The Village mixed with your choice of a zombie movie. Interesting. This page turner kept me reading until well past my bed time, and I'm too old to stay up too late.Ryan's world building here was quite good, I was surprised to find that I wasn't reading about happenings on an alternate world, but right here on our earth. That made it that much more scary. I had a couple of issues with this story. One was I didn't find out how the how it all began, what caused The Return. Another was with Mary. As much as I liked her character in this book I wish she could have found happiness. I hope these things are covered in the sequels. I'll be reading them. If you like YA, dystopian or horror novels I think you'll like this one.

Rating:

Quote: I try to get a feel for the blade in my hand, for my only weapon. From a young age everyone in my village is taught how to fight for a day such as this. The wood on the handle is smooth and slippery from the dampness of my palm. It feels awkward and unwieldy, and the bag of food throws me off balance.

Links:
Carrie Ryan

the series

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

About the book: Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devour Eclipse, the much anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga. As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

First line: I ran my fingers across the page, feeling the dents where he had pressed the pen to the paper so hard that it had nearly broken through.


My thoughts: I'll have to say that Bella is even more annoying in this book, if that is possible. Edward comes off as a conrol freak and Jacob has a moment as a sexual predator. I didn't even like Charlie in this one much. At 600+ pages there was plenty of time for Bella to whine about stuff, demand her way then change her mind. The danger to everyone was just a short aside to all the posturing. I know this seems very negative and most of you who read will have loved this book. Sorry. I listened to this and if I had been reading it I would have done a LOT of skimming. I would have enjoyed it a lot more is it had been tightened up and some of the angst taken out. With that said, I have to see what happens so I'll be listening to Breaking Dawn next.

Rating:


Quote: "The worst part is that I saw the whole thing -- our whole life. And I want it bad, Jake, I want it all. I want to stay right here and never move. I want to love you and make you happy. And I can't, and it's killing me." (This is Bella talking to Jacob.)

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Synopsis: In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

First line: I was ninety-nine point nine percent sure I was dreaming.

My thoughts: Since most of you have probably read this I won't go into much detail. I basically liked this book but found Bella to be a weak, self serving character. I disliked the way her character used Jacob and the way she could not function without Edward or Jacob to support her. I think I could have liked this book a lot more with fewer pages of "I'm dreaming..." and fewer pages of moping. With that said, I enjoyed getting to know Jacob and his family. I like the way the author has rethought the werewolf and vampire legends. The trip to Italy to rescue Edward and meet the Volturi was interesting. I checked this one out of the library and will get the next one but hope it moves on along.

My rating:
Quote: "Shoot," I muttered when the paper sliced my finger; I pulled it out to examine the damage. A single drop of blood oozed from the tiny cut.

It all happened very quickly then.

Edward threw himself at me, flinging me back across the table...

I tumbled down to the floor by the piano, with my arms thrown out instinctively to catch my fall, into the jagged shards of glass. I felt the searing, stinging pain that ran from my wrist to the crease inside my elbow.

Dazed and disoriented, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm—into the fevered eyes of the six suddenly ravenous vampires.

Links:
first chapter
Stephenie Meyer

Vixen by Jillian Larkin

Product Description: Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination. Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they?

Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch—but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she’ll do anything to keep hidden. . . .

Lorraine Dyer, Gloria’s social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria’s shadow. When Lorraine’s envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someone’s going to be very sorry. . . .

First line: She didn't feel like wearing a garter tonight. Her gold-beaded dress, cascading in waves of crystalline fringe, covered the intersection between her sheer stockings and bare thigh.

My thoughts:
This book is an ARC that I received from B&N as part of their First Look Book Club. I was initially attracted to it because of the time period in which it takes place, the 1920s. I loved the cover as well, it is beautiful. I am not much of a YA fan, or for that matter nor am I much of a romance fan, but wanted to give this one a try. The fact that the character's were 17 year olds jarred in my mind and clashed with their older adult actions. I've seen it written that this book is Flappers meet Gossip Girls. I loved the setting and the look into the world of flappers, speakeasys, gangsters and jazz.

The chapters of this book alternate between the stories of three teenaged girls: Gloria, a Chicago Socialite engaged to a man who loved only her money, Clara, Gloria's cousin, who is trying to escape her old life and reinvent herself, and Lorraine, Gloria's jealous best friend. The first part was a little hard for me to get into, but after that it it got better. My favorite character was Clara. It seemed to me that it was her story that held the book together. My least favorite was Bastian, the fiance.

If you are a YA fan you should love this one.

My Rating:
Quotes: Everything began to crystalize: She would help Marcus with his plan to break Clara's heart. Only, really, she would be working to make Marcus fall in love with her.



Links:
Jillian Larkin
About the book

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Product Description: For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.
Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.



Quote from the book: "You don't think of me as a delicate flower in comparison to you?" When I laughed again, he pressed, "Okay, what words would you use then?"I leaned back in the seat, thinking, as Sam looked at me doubtfully. He was right to look doubtful. My head didn't work with words very well—at least not in this abstract, descriptive sort of way. "Sensitive," I tried.
Sam translated: "Squishy."
"Creative."
"Dangerously emo."
"Thoughtful."
"Feng shui." (p. 207)

Why this book, you might ask: I picked this book up to read because I've seen so many reviews of it on different book blogs.

My thoughts: This is one of the few YA books that I have read so I wasn't sure if I would like it or not. It was at heart a love story, girl loves paranormal boy. Sam and Grace, the main characters were sweet and likable. I enjoyed new look at werewolves: it's cold weather that causes them to change into wolves instead of the full moon bringing it on. They are wolf for the winter and human when it turns warm.

This isn't fast paced page turner, rather it is a romantic, angst-y story with some suspense.
I found myself skimming through the middle of the book. The second half kind of took off and was very entertaining. The characters did work well together and were developed. I can see why it would draw the YA crowd. Over all I liked it, it is one that I will remember just because it is so different from what I usually read.

Links:
Maggie Stiefvater's site.

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 392 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (August 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545123267
ISBN-13: 978-0545123266
YA, teen, warewolf, paranormal romance

In the Company of Ogres by A. Lee Martinez

From the back: An uproarious new novel in the tradition of Robert Asprin and Terry Pratchett!For someone who's immortal, Never Dead Ned manages to die with alarming frequency--he just has the annoying habit of rising from the grave. But this soldier might be better dead than face his latest assignment. Ogre Company is the legion's dumping ground--a motley, undisciplined group of monsters whose leaders tend to die under somewhat questionable circumstances. That's where Ned's rather unique talents come in. As Ogre Company's newly appointed commander, Ned finds himself in charge of such fine examples of military prowess as a moonstruck Amazon, a very big (and very polite) two-headed ogre, a seductively scaly siren, a blind oracle who can hear (and smell) the future, a suicidal goblin daredevil pilot, a walking tree with a chip on its shoulder, and a suspiciously goblinesque orc.Ned has only six months to whip the Ogre Company into shape or face an even more hideous assignment, but that's not the worst of his problems. Because now that Ned has found out why he keeps returning from dead, he has to do everything he can to stay alive. . . .

My thoughts: What a hoot! This book was quite well written, with witty dialogue, and parts that make you laugh out loud. It was a quick entertaining read that I found to be right up my reading alley. In this book , Never Dead Ned, an accountant, is put in charge of a military company of misfits lifted from all your favorite fantasies, ogres, goblins, an Amazon, a Siren, a walking tree that refuses to be called an "Ent" but prefers Treefolk, etc. Ned is a unique character to me in that he is so inept, such a poor leader, yet he wins the heart of his new command. I loved that Martinez named a pair of twin ogres Martin and Lewis. I guess I'm old enough to remember that particular pair of comedians. Pick this up, read it and see if you can spot all the fantasy and pop-culture references included. If you like Terry Pratchett's books (and I do) I think you'll like this.

Here is the author's MySpace.

Challenges:

100+ Reading Challenge

RYOB Challenge