Book Review: Landry Park by Bethany Hagen

Author: Bethany Hagen
Publisher: Dial
Pages: 384

Series/Standalone: Series

Synopsis:

In a fragmented future United States ruled by the lavish gentry, seventeen-year-old Madeline Landry dreams of going to the university. Unfortunately, gentry decorum and her domineering father won't allow that. Madeline must marry, like a good Landry woman, and run the family estate. But her world is turned upside down when she discovers the devastating consequences her lifestyle is having on those less fortunate. As Madeline begins to question everything she has ever learned, she finds herself increasingly drawn to handsome, beguiling David Dana. Soon, rumors of war and rebellion start to spread, and Madeline finds herself and David at the center of it all. Ultimately, she must make a choice between duty - her family and the estate she loves dearly - and desire.

IN A NUTSHELL

A dystopian that's far more sophisticated than most.

Although I haven't read the Selection series I see Landry Park as being somewhat like that book. The elegance, ball gowns, and the I-am-better-than-you attitude. Like I said I could be totally wrong.

SETTING

The setting was much like most Dystopian-ish worlds. By that I mean you have the people who think they're better then everyone else, and then those who live poorly. (I guess you could say it's much like the real world) We did get to learn some about how Madeline's world came to be. What made them think they were better than the others. The world-building was nothing spectacular, but that's just my opinion. Take it for what it worth, which is probably a grain of salt. :)

While the world building itself wasn't my cup of tea although the sophistication was there (they weren't having kids kill kids) They let the poor do jobs that would eventually make them sick. They let the world itself do the killing. It's a step up from people killing people right? No.

CHARACTERS

I had a hard time believing I would love the characters from the beginning of the story what with the holier than thou attitude, but I grew to enjoy a few of them as the story neared an end.

Madeline at times definitely had me wondering if she would go with her gut feeling, and be true to herself. Sometimes I felt she'd do what was easier, but eventually she picked where she wanted her loyalties to lie. I believe she will definitely grow to be a strong lady.

David frustrated me so much because he was either hot or cold with Madeline and I hate when they play games with each other. Pick one girl or the other fool. :P I will say it does eventually work itself out, and we see some twists. :) 

ENDING

It's not really what I was expecting. Then again some parts are exactly what I wanted.

Book Review: All Fall Down by Ally Carter

Author: Ally Carter
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 320

Series/Standalone: Series

Synopsis:

Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:

1. She is not crazy.
2. Her mother was murdered.
3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.

As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believes her -- so there's no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door, who is keeping his eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands.

Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can't control Grace -- no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do. Her past has come back to hunt her . . . and if she doesn't stop it, Grace isn't the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.

MY THOUGHTS

Is it wrong to say I love Ally Carter? I don't think there's one book of hers that I didn't enjoy.  That's saying somethin because according to goodreads she's my most read author with 9 books. Nine books! I haven't read that many from Richelle Mead and she's my favorite (or so I thought). 

Anyways,  All Fall Down really couldn't of come at a better time for reading because I just finished her Gallagher Girls Series, and was wondering if I would get anymore of her quirky , on the edge, lovable characters like Cammie, Bex, Macey, Liz, Katarina, Hale, or Zach. While they're different stories with different problems they definitely have the Ally Carter-ness to them. :)

We go from Spies, to thieves, to con artists, to a diplomats grand-daughter which I guess could be very similar to the afore mentioned. 

All Fall Down has a bit of a dystopian like feel to it. The world in set up differently. I mean you still have the US and other countries, but it's different.

I liked Grace as a character she understood that sometimes you got to fight for what you believe. 

I liked that the other kids around her also tried to help her figure out who this person was.

Things happen that you definitely don't see coming (or maybe you're more perceptive then me and do). Either way be ready for for a shock. ;) 

The ending was a killer, and I don't know if I can wait for the second book to come out. This...this is why I try and wait to read the first book. 

Music Video: Day by Day sung by T-ara

 Watch these music videos and then scroll to see my thoughts.
(Note these are not sung in English)


I don't know what it is about this video and the next one, but I absolutely love them. Maybe, it's that it seems to tell a story, but what that story is I'm not really sure. I think it also captured my attention because when a co-worker was telling me about it I could hear an interesting story being told.

Two sisters living life after some devastation on earth. One being able to see the future maybe, and then this evil girl wants her for other reasons. So she steals her from the sister, and then this sister goes to look for her.

I know this sounds totally crazy, but if you watched the video then you'll kind of understand.

Book Review: Not A Drop To Drink by Mindy McGinnis

AUTHOR: Mindy McGinnis
PUBLISHER: Katherine Tegan
PAGES: 320
STAND ALONE/SERIES: Companion (In A handful of dust)
SOURCE: Bought
OUTLINE:
Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all.

Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.

But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, nighttime threats, and gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it….

With evocative, spare language and incredible drama, danger, and romance, debut author Mindy McGinnis depicts one girl’s journey in a barren world not so different than our own

MY THOUGHTS

An Ashley Quirk
This has to be said first while I was reading this the jingle from the FarmersOnly commercial kept popping in my head. Have you guys seen this commercial? Ever have that happen to you where you reading a book, and you can't get a certain commercial, or something that you think pertains to the book out of your head? Maybe, it's just me.

Quick ThoughtThese type of dystopians always put me on edge a little because it deals with something precious to us. WATER. 

PACING

The first 3rd of the book (I'm guessing here) was slow and in my opinion not much happened. Setting up for the rest of the story maybe? It wasn't until one event happened that it started picking up, and we started getting more from the story like other characters, why they were guarding their pond,

Then the last 3rd of the book (again guessing here) is where the action started and things got heated up. (Not that there weren't a few other scenes where stuff wasn't heated ;p) For the most part though is was a mild pacing. 

CHARACTERS

Lynn was the MC and as much as I wanted to like her there just wasn't that connection. Don't get me wrong she wasn't a horrible character in the least bit, but I just didn't feel that friend vibe from her. Maybe it's because she was so isolated from everyone for so long. She was never really a weak character though during the story she always managed to survive, and I understand she did what she had to. That's how her mom taught her to be. #toughcookietocrack I did like how she seemed to care for this little girl.
Stebbs reminded me of the grandpa type. Just kind of there until someone needed him. #awesomeoldguy

Eli the young guy who watches over his family while they are in the woods, and then of course you know he's going to meet our MC, and the rest is pretty much YAish after that. I will admit I enjoyed Eli. That is all. #Iwillnotcry

Lucy being so young and going through what she did I would have totally cracked, but she simply found the good in her life. It's the simple things that seem to make kids happy, and sometimes I wish I could go back to being a little kid. #idontwanttogrowup

ENDING

I think this is what really killed me. I got attached to SOME of the characters so when things started happening and someone got hurt I wanted to cry. This is how I felt! #whywhywhywhy

Book review: Human .4 by Mike Lancaster

AUTHOR: Mike A. Lancaster
PUBLISHER: Egmont
PAGES: 231
SERIES/STAND ALONE: Stand alone
SOURCE: Bought
OUTLINE:
Kyle Straker volunteered to be hypnotized at the annual community talent show, expecting the same old lame amateur acts. But when he wakes up, his world will never be the same. Televisions and computers no longer work, but a strange language streams across their screens. Everyone’s behaving oddly. It’s as if Kyle doesn’t exist.

Is this nightmare a result of the hypnosis? Will Kyle wake up with a snap of fingers to roars of laughter? Or is this something much more sinister?

MY THOUGHTS:
It starts off with Kyle and everyone in the community at this annual talent show. One of the participants is a Hypnotist, supposedly not a very good one, so when he asks for volunteers people kind of ignore him. That could have been a mistake depending on the way you look at the situation after the hypnosis. He gets his  volunteers; Two adults, Kyle, and a girl Kyle use to like. The four fall into it, and when they wake their world is different for lack of a better word. 

Technology doesn't work, and there's a strange alien language on every screen. Is it an alien invasion? Are they still hypnotized after all? Why are their family and friends acting as if they don't exist? The four set off to find out what's going on. Question is are they going to like what they find, and will it be a future that they're ready for?

I'll admit while reading this I was so freaking confused. I don't know if it was because it was told by someone talking into tapes, or what. I mean I understand that it's how the story was suppose to be written, and that it's going to just chop off parts because once a tape ends...it ends. We don't get to hear the rest of Kyle's thoughts, and I guess that's what annoys me the most. I did enjoy some of the editors notes though. It gave it a little something different.

Even with the odd format of the story I found that after finishing it I began wondering what if? What if we are  part of something bigger then we know. I'm not talking church type stuff either. What if we're just one version of  the human race, and we could be deleted and replaced with better models? I know this sounds off-the-wall, bizarre, and you're probably thinking I'm on something (which I'm not). I'm just saying. Technology has become very advanced and we tend to rely on it for most everything.

This is kind of a vague review I know, but I feel like if I say to much it'll give away whats happening to them, and I don't want that. :)

Note: This may not be relevant, but it's something that oddly enough bothers me. This book kind of brought this to the fore-front of my mind.
Have you ever had that feeling when you wake up everyone you know isn't going to be there, or if they are they won't know you, and it'll be as if you never existed. Is that just me?

QUOTES:
No neat happy ending, but an ending all the same.

OTHER PLACES THIS REVIEW IS AT:
Good Reads
Amazon