A review of "Be More Chill" by Ned Vizzini

How would I describe this book? Probably as "a satirical social critique disguised as a John Greenesque high school sex comedy." With a narrative voice straight out of a Woody Allen film, Ned Vizzini tells the story of a typical neurotic teenaged schmuck named Jeremy Heere, who inhabits a very atypical plot. He, wanting to be more cool, swallows a pill called a "squip" which is a supercomputer in pill form that begins to inhabit his brain and control his life. This makes him cool, but at the same time takes a toll on his personal life. Did I like Be More Chill? That's a hard question. Often the tone of the book was too arch-snobbish for me, and the wannabe-Byron protagonist often grated, but the little complexities (e.g. the implied fact that the book is set in an alternate reality) and the dry, sarcastic sense of humor that the squip (who speaks with Jeremy throughout the entire book) itself has pushes past those small disputes I had before. Over all, Be More Chill is a flawed, but entertaining book.

Enclave (Razorland, #1) by Ann Aguirre

Enclave (Razorland, #1) by Ann Aguirre

Hardcover, 259 pages

Published April 12th 2011 by Feiwel & Friends

WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.
As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.
Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first she thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.
As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known. – Goodreads

My Opinion: I really really really liked this. It reminded me of Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield and also of Resident Evil. It has a lot of action and the characters are fantastic. Duece is awesome and so is Fade. They have a really amazing partnership and I’m surprised that they didn’t get together. Stalker and Tegan were also interesting characters but I think that Fade was my favorite just from the little history that is kept a history. My second favorite was a tie between Duece and Silk. Silk is supposed to be a leader for the Hunters but she can also tell when the leaders of the Enclave are doing something and she doesn’t speak up because she knows that if she does… they will exile her and she wont be able to protect them anymore.

 

Something that really confused me was that after they meet with the Gangs and are in the city they find out that the Enclaves underground are called colleges and they stop calling it the Enclave and it becomes known as the College. That confused me a little, and then I got a little mad because Enclave sounded so much cooler than College, but whatever that was just my little rant. Anyways, the world was similar to the world of Aftertime. There are both these mutant Freak people a.k.a Zombies that have been made that way after a “disease”(or is it?) hit sometime ago. I’m not exactly sure as to where the book’s setting actually is but my guess would be somewhere in or near New York.

 

The plot was pretty cool as well. Duece changes a lot. She learns to not follow blindly and to protect better and learn more about her partner. Overall it was a fun and easy read that was quite enjoyable and action packed. You wont want to put it down!

 

Overall: 5 out of 5

Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls, #1) by C.C. Hunter

Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls, #1) by C.C. Hunter

Paperback, 416 pages

Published March 29th 2011 by St. Martin’s Griffin

Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams,  Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…
One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever.  Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.”  Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.
Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either.  Or does she?  They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason.  As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas.  Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past.  Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.
Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs… – Goodreads

My Opinion: This had some downs… mostly in the beginning of the book were I felt like nothing was happening and that I was becoming a little bored. I wanted a little more action and more mystery maybe. Kylie seems like a good girl gone a little crazy but that is understandable because her whole life practically is falling apart right in front of her and she can’t do anything about it. I really liked the mixture of supernatural creatures/monsters that were thrown into the mix of this book and I really liked the idea of the camp.
Something that I REALLY liked that was that we didn’t find out what she is. So that just keeps the mystery going. I can’t wait for the next book in the series. I seriously hope that we find out then because I don’t think that I can wait that long to find out what she is. I have a couple of ideas but maybe I”m wrong.  Anyways the characters were pretty interesting and entertaining. The setting awesome… what more could you ask for?
Overall: 4 out of 5

The Dark Divine Series

I love this series. This is the second book in the Dark Divine Series. I finished it about last week. It's a fabulous book just like it's predecessor. This book goes more into the history behind the book. I can't wait for the third book. I would tell you about it but then there would be spoilers. So summary of first book below:

(P.S A MUST READ for werewolf lover and Jacob Fans like myself.)

The first one:
This is the beginning of Grace Divine. Wonder why she has such a pure name, and not a regular name? She the daughter of a pastor. She lives in a small town outside of city.  She's the perfect student,  pastor's daughter, and the role model for all of the girls in the town. Everything changes when Daniel comes back, a childhood neighbor friend that was so close to the Divine family that they called him family comes back to Grace's art class, school, and heart. Incindentally he's still as hot as ever but when she brings him home, the family freaks. Troubling events happen like when her baby brother James disappears, but Daniel comes to save the day. Grace is completely frighted when he started sniffing to find James and  has supernatural speed to catch James before he falls. Daniel tries to convince her that she's tired and sleepy from trying to find Baby James all night. Do you believe him?

Don't you just love the covers? The author is trying to get nail polish to come out in these colors.

Sarah Dessen talks about her new book What Happened to Goodbye (video)

PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

Another YA book in movie production.

Forever - a stop motion book trailer