Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Title: Unearthly
Author: Cynthia Hand

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: January 4th 2011

Age Group: Young Adult
Rating: ♥♥♥♥ [4]

Source: Bought

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she’s part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there’s another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara’s less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she’d have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

I picked up Unearthly because I was looking for a good Angel book and because of the gorgeous cover. I'm really in love with the whole idea of guardian angels and I after reading Unearthly I can't wait to get my hands on more!

This book was wonderful! Cynthia Hand's writing style was spot on. I never got tired of reading this book and I found myself constantly picking up my Kindle again and again because I had to know more. This book in short is addictive.

My favorite character was...Tucker! He is such a gentleman and a real down to earth kinda guy. I LOVED the romance between Clara and Tucker. It was so refreshing and real. I found myself smiling like a dork a lot during the Clara and Tucker moments. I wish we had gotten to know Christian more because it seems as though he was just a side character instead of a main character and there are still lots of mystery surrounding him waiting to be solved (hopefully in the next book). The setting was amazing too! I really have to visit Wyoming one day..

There was a steady pacing throughout but it fell apart towards the end. The ending was so abrupt that it made it obvious that Unearthly was a series. I think that in series each book needs to at least be partially wrapped up. The ending didn't elaborate on anything that happened during the book and nothing was really solved. I guess this makes me want to pick up the second book even more!

Overall, a great start to the series! And I'll definitely pick up the second book Hallowed. 

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"I'm looking at you. Why are you always trying to hide how pretty you are?" (307) - Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

I really need to get my hands on more Angel books!

-Stella♥

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Title: The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2)
Author: Rick Riordan | Website
Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books
Release Date: April 1st 2006
Age Group: Middle Grade
Rating: ♥♥♥ [3] 
Source: Library

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson is finding his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any normal friends. But things don't stay quiet for long.

Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders that protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters, the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millennia. Only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name: The Bermuda Triangle.

Together with his friends, Percy must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family, one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.

I'm probably the last person to read this series as pretty much everyone has read and loved this series. There is so much hype surrounding the Percy Jackson series that I just had to read it! I read the first book in the series, The Lighting Thief, around this time last year and I thoroughly enjoyed it so I decided to continue on with the series. I have no knowledge on Greek Mythology whatsoever so I loved that this book taught me the basics!  

Probably my favorite aspect of this book was the Greek Mythology! I especially learned a lot of the big names such as the gods and heroes. This book was as action packed as the first one! I liked how the first book and the second book were both complete and could be two stand-alones. But the cliffhanger at the end of this book was OH MY GOSH. I'm am going to have to pick up the third book REAL soon!  

I love all the characters and settings! The characters were all very likeable and this book introduced more new characters that I think are great new additions to the series! I can't wait to see how they play a role in the following books.

However, there were some aspects of this book that made it an irritating and slow read. This series seems like the child version of Harry Potter. There were many times in this book that seemed too much like Harry Potter which made me a little annoyed. Another problem I had was that I found this book to be a little too childish at times. Unlike Harry Potter which can be enjoyed by all ages, I think that children 15 and under would really enjoy this book, but anyone over the age of 15 would probably notice the slight childish qualities in this series. I don't know... does anyone else agree with me on this or am I the only one? I think that this is the only flaw in the series.

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"Hermes gazed up at the stars. "My dear young cousin, if there's one thing I've learned over the eons, it's that you can't give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it. It doesn't matter if they hate you, or embarrass you..."" (104) -The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

I will be continuing to read and review this series so stay tuned! Question: Who is you favorite Greek God? Comment below! :) I'll have to say Athena, because although I don't really know much about the Greek Gods, from what I know, she is smart and screams girl power! 

-Stella♥

Looking For Alaska by John Green

Title: Looking For Alaska

Author: John Green | Website

Publisher: Puffin

Release Date: March 3rd 2005

Age Group: Young Adult

Rating: ♥♥♥ [3]
Source: Library

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

I was eager to read this book as I had never read a John Green book before and I wanted to hop onto the John Green bandwagon. Maybe because I was expecting this to be the best book in the world, I was disappointed. If I had just randomly picked this book from the library shelf, I’m sure I might’ve been way more impressed but with all the hype surrounding this book, I couldn’t help but feel unsatisfied.

The way the book was set up was really interesting. There are two parts to the book, the before and the after. This made me very curious and want to keep reading to find out what after was. I thought that the structure of the story was very unique. I found that, to me, the plot was unpredictable. I often found myself surprised at events that happened which kept me wanting to read more.

I didn't particularly like Miles' character because I sometimes found him annoying. However, he had a very strong voice in the story and I loved the idea of him being obsessed with last words, it was a very unique character trait. On the other hand, I absolutely adored Alaska. She seemed fun, adventurous, and one of those people who always knows what to do and say. I also liked the Colonel, Takumi, and Lara and the friendships between all five of them. John Green did a great job with character detail as we were able to get to know each character well throughout the course of the story. I think that Looking for Alaska is one of those books that are made by the characters, and not the actual story.  

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"I found myself thinking about President William McKinley, the third American president to be assassinated. He lived for several days after he was shot, and toward the end, his wife started crying and screaming, "I want to go, too! I want to go, too!" And with his last measure of strength, McKinley turned to her and spoke his last words: "We are all going."" (120) -Looking For Alaska by John Green

For those who haven't, check this book out if you are craving some contemporary. Don't worry John Green fans, I'm still looking forward to checking out more John Green books. Comment below your favorite John Green book! :)

-Stella♥

The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh

Title: The Green Book
Author: Jill Paton Walsh
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) 
Release Date: September 1st 1986

Age Group: Middle Grade/Children
Rating: ♥♥♥♥ [4]

Source: Bought

"We are at Shine, on the first day, " says Pattie, when, as the youngest member of the group, she is given the honor of naming the new settlement. Refugees from the dying planet Earth, they, along with other ships, have been sent into space in the hope that some of them will survive to continue the human race. But the success of Shine remains doubtful as crops fail and provisions brought from Earth dwindle. Even the excitement surrounding the hatching of the giant moth people from the "boulders" in Boulder Valley doesn't make the group forget the hopelessness of the situation. It isn't until Pattie and her sister Sarah make an important discovery that survival becomes a certainty. 

I remember first picking this book up in elementary school as this was a recommended reading book. I didn't read it at that time but soon after, I found this book in the bargain books section of the book store and decided to give it a try. Ever since I bought it, it stayed on my bookshelf collecting dust. However, what made me pick this book up now, was its size, it's only 80 pages long! I'm currently behind on my 50 book challenge and I thought that reading this book would help me catch up. I read this book in an hour and was not disappointed!

I enjoyed the descriptions of the setting, the planet Shine, more than the actual story. Shine sounds like mysterious and otherworldly planet that I would much like to visit! Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed was the premise: Humanity having to depart earth and inhabit another planet. However, a flaw in this book was that it did not go in-depth into certain details. I thought that the story seemed somewhat empty and brief. For example, we don't really know why humanity has to leave earth. Small details such as that would have made the book more worthwhile but I do understand that this is a children's book so the detail and language must be kept to a minimum.

I liked Pattie, the main character, as I found her to be a typical child heroine who was smarter and braver than adults most of the time. There wasn't much character development in other characters besides Pattie which was somewhat disappointing.

Although there were loop holes in the plot and the story was not solid, I think the reason why I loved this book so much was because of the setting. Once again, I thought the setting was amazing! And I can't stress how awesome it would be to visit the planet Shine. Overall, the appeal of this book is that it is a short, light read that can be read in one sitting. I thought that the writing style was simple yet elegant; perfect for a young child. I think that this would be a great gateway book into science fiction for young children.

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"It's natural to feel excited," he said. "But this is not a holiday. We are a handpicked group; we are the minimum number that can possibly survive and multiply. Between us we have the skills we require. But the loss of a single member of our party will endanger the survival of us all. There is no such thing, Arthur, as 'your own risk.' Not any more. And may we all remember that." (15) -The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh

I have recently gotten interested in science fiction. Can you guys recommend me some good sci-fi books because I'm pretty new to this genre! :) 

-Stella♥

Numbers by Rachel Ward

Title: Numbers (Numbers #1)
Author: Rachel Ward | Website
Publisher: Chicken House
Release Date: February 1st 2010 
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Library
Rating: ♥♥♥♥ [4]
Challenge: --

Ever since she was child, Jem has kept a secret: Whenever she meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die. Burdened with such awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. The two plan a trip to the city. But while waiting to ride the Eye Ferris wheel, Jem is terrified to see that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today's number. Today's date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem's world is about to explode!

This book took me by surprise as it was not what I expected it to be at all. The summary on the cover flap can be misleading as that is not what this book is about. I was expecting a thriller/conspiracy/science-fiction story but this story actually focused a lot on the romance between our two main protagonists Jem and Spider.

I found the concept of this story interesting: girl who can see the death dates of other people; but I thought that Rachel Ward could do a little more with it.  I picked this book up because the concept reminded me of the popular anime Death Note. I liked where Rachel Ward was going with the story at the beginning as I was expecting a thriller but it all turned into romance (that can be good too). The story is heavily based around the concepts of death, fate, and destiny and questions whether we control our own fates or if our fates are already predetermined. I found that these concepts made me think throughout the course of reading this book. The overall feel of the book was very dark. I think that the book set a good pace in the beginning but the story felt rushed towards the end and it felt like all the loose ends were trying to be tied up really quickly. Sadly, I don't think the ending was as strong as the start.

The romance was great! However I wish there was more development to it. I really loved Jem and Spider's relationship and how Jem developed as a character throughout the story. There relationship with one another was heartwarming and at the same time heartbreaking. I found the ending to be shocking and abrupt. The cliff hanger at the end of the story made me want the run and grab the second book in the series, Chaos.

I also really enjoyed Rachel Ward's writing style. It was descriptive yet not over the top and easy to follow. As Rachel Ward is an English author I had to grab the dictionary several times in order to understand some words. I'll be on the lookout for more of her books!

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“Nothing makes any sense. Nothing means anything. You're born, you live, you die. That's it.” -Numbers by Rachel Ward

Overall, Numbers was an enjoyable book. It was an interesting concept although the story didn’t play out as I thought it would. I will be picking up and reviewing the second book Chaos to see what happens next!

-Stella♥