Through the Zombie Glass

By Gena Showalter

Series: Book #2 White Rabbit Chronicles

ISBN: 9780373210779

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: September 24th 2013

Number of Pages: 480
Source: Local Library

GoodreadsSummary: Inspired by the childhood classic Alice in Wonderland, this harrowing and romantic story features teen zombie slayer Alice Bell who has lost so much—family, friends, her home. After a strange new zombie attack, Alice fears she may be losing her mind as well. A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do wicked things. The whispers of the dead assault her ears and mirrors seem to come frighteningly to life. She’s never needed her team of zombie slayers more—including her boyfriend, Cole—than she does now. But as Cole strangely withdraws and the zombies gain new strength, Ali knows one false step may doom them all.

My Rating:  

Warning: Review contains spoilers

This was a pretty good second book (thank goodness it didn't succumb to the dreaded "second book syndrome: just a filler book")! We meet up with Alice a couple weeks after the last attack (where Cole accidentally happens to STAB her). She is bedridden and just wants to get back in the zombie-slaying game. Mysterious and creepy things start happening to Alice after a new attack where she is bitten by a fellow student (not really a fellow slayer as Justin betrayed them to Anima in book 1) who was bitten in turn by a zombie. Because of this, Ali now has a zombie Ali now growing inside of her, competing with her human self for dominance. Then there's a twist - her spirit is toxic to zombies, which now means she is slowly poisoning herself. She starts seeing strange things in the mirror, hearing voices in her head, and developing a terrible hunger for her friends. And wouldn't you guess? Just when she needs that bad-a** boyfriend of hers, Cole dumps her. This is all because she had a not-so innocent vision with the new guy, Gavin.

"Gavin's a [player], you know. Never been with the same girl twice. And he's never liked blondes. He won't stay with you for long." - Through the Zombie Glass, 84

I guessed the secret to the visions long before they came true :P Silly teenagers, don't know how to trust their significant others! This book has romance, spies, zombies, cat-fights  and humor. The cover is beautiful and we are given a good ending (though open-ended, not a cliffhanger!) I could not put the book down, it read very fast for being almost 500 pages. Also, I have to mention that I really love Kat & Frosty!! They are so cute and perfect for each other. Their characters are very well written and seem totally natural. I will be extremely angry if she dies in the next book. Can't we find a cure already?? I did find the part at the end with all three girls recuperating in the same room and then having their significant others there a tad bit weird and unrealistic..

The 100

By Kass Morgan

ISBN: 9780316234478
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 3rd 2013
Number of Pages: 277
Source: Local Library
Goodreads Summary: In the future, humans live in city-like spaceships orbiting far above Earth's toxic atmosphere. No one knows when, or even if, the long-abandoned planet will be habitable again. But faced with dwindling resources and a growing populace, government leaders know they must reclaim their homeland... before it's too late. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents are being sent on a high-stakes mission to recolonize Earth. After a brutal crash landing, the teens arrive on a savagely beautiful planet they've only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. But they're haunted by their past and uncertain about the future. To survive, they must learn to trust - and even love - again.

My Rating: 

I will be honest - I was not able to finish this book. I stopped reading at pg. 70.

If I have time, I just might come back to this book at a later date. Right now, I saw that it is part of a series, which initially turns me off of a lot of books because the sequels are spaced too far apart for me to follow the story well enough. So after all the books come out, I may re-visit. 

The premise of this books sounds cool, but after reading some reviews, it doesn't sound like what the summary blurb says. 

From what I was able to glean from this book in the first 70 pages is that it is a bit confusing to follow. We have 4 POVs?? That's asking a bit much in my opinion. Not only is the reader trying to connect with so many characters, we have flashbacks mixed in with the present day. Yes, it is helpful to see where these characters are coming from. However, I think it may be more effective and easier to read if this story was just told in chronological order.

Untold

by Sarah Rees Brennan

Series: Book #2 Lynburn Legacy
ISBN: 9780375870423
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 24th 2013
Number of Pages: 356
Source: Local Library
GoodreadsSummary: It’s time to choose sides… On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways. But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?

My Rating:  

Warning: Review contains spoilers

We pick up where Unspoken left off (read it first!). I wasn't too impressed with this second book and here are my thoughts:
 

Kami still annoys me to no end, as does Jared. Just because the connection is severed between them, why couldn't they work out their issues and just give their relationship a chance? At least towards the end of the book, they start being honest - yay for maturing! This quote seems to sum up the all-consuming love (or obsession) that Jared has for Kami:

"...in the book a guy said that he would rather touch someone's hand if she was dead than another girl who was alive. It's creepy I know that...nothing comparison. Nobody is real but her. So it feels sometimes as if nothing else matters at all, including other people. She wouldn't like that. Other people should matter." - Untold, 177 

I still wish that Kami and older brother of Angela, Rusty, could get more chemistry. Brennan isn't afraid of love triangles - evidence of Kami's affections for both Jared & Ash.

I really appreciate the writing of Angela's character and her sexuality. We don't see many lesbians in literature and the stereotypes and struggles Angela faces are true to life. I still think that Holly does feel the same way (or is at least confused) She sleeps with any guy she fancies and then she has this heart-to-heart with Rusty (after a very descriptive noticing of Angie).

"Her family would have minded a lot...'It's okay, if that's how you're born. I know that. But what if you weren't born that way, what if you were just some sort of freak, if you'd been with a ton of guys and still liked guys and then if you were...if you started noticing, what does that even make you? What kind of person can't just choose to be one way or the other?" -Untold, 181

Then Rusty's blunt answer - "Uh, bisexual people might be the kind of person you're thinking of?" (182). I love Rusty! I don't think anyone else is coming to the same conclusion, as Brennan drops the bomb of Holly admitting she is a sorcerer.

The biggest problem I had with this book was that it suffered from that dreadful SBS (second book syndrome). This book didn't further the story too much - just full of drama focusing on the romance. Kami does get some "investigating" done but not a whole lot was accomplished. The only real action comes at the end when we have the battle between Rob & his bad sorcerers vs. "the good guys" and we are left with a cliff-hanger again. (Not as bad as the first book, but still a cliff hanger!)

There were several things brought up that never were touched on again and I'm hoping these are resolved in the third book. Like Holly having magic?? Um, why wasn't this utilized? Also, what about the mystery surrounding Matthew Cooper?

So yes, I loved the character development in this book but without furthering the plot, how can you have a good book? This is why this book received two stars instead of a three stars from me.

Fangirl

By Rainbow Rowell

ISBN: 9781250030951

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publication Date: September 10th 2013

Number of Pages: 438
Source: Local Library

Goodreads Summary: Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn't want to. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

My Rating:  

Warning: Review contains some spoilers

Two twins, Cath & Wren, go off to college together but Wren decides she needs to branch out and chooses to live in another dorm. While Wren goes out drinking and partying with her roommate Courtney, Cath gets scary girl Reagan and her forever happy-go-lucky boyfriend Levi. 

Cath has extreme anxiety and panic attacks regarding new people, new places, and situations. I really connected with her character because of this (I suffer from the same thing). 

"She just needed to settle her nerves. To take the anxiety she felt like black static behind her eyes and an extra heart in her throat, and shove it all back down to her stomach where it belonged - where she could at least tie it into a nice knot and work around it." - Fangirl, 5

She stays in her room and writes fanfiction about Simon Snow, a popular character in a best-selling book series. One of the highlights of her new life is a junior-level fiction writing class. She meets up with classmate Nick on Tuesday nights where they collaborate to write short stories. It seems to be obvious to me that Nick is leading her on and I am extremely happy with the way Cath gave him what he deserved.

Add into this mix a bipolar father (another thing that hits close to home for me) and a mother that left them at age 8 but is now trying to “reconnect.”

Loved this book - the relationships Cath develops, strengthens, and those she chooses not to pursue make for an interesting read that keeps the reader engaged.

One thing I didn't go for: the Cath fanfiction snippets in between chapters. I skimmed over these and most of the passages she reads out-loud to Levi. They just didn't appeal to me and didn't further the plot whereas Cath is concerned. Some readers may enjoy this as part of the book though it wasn't for me.

I am noticing Rowell doesn't write "super sappy happy endings." It's a good ending but it always leaves me wanting more out of the story!!

Also, can't help but connect with this book since I'm very familiar with the setting (love the descriptions of Love Library!! It is a beautiful old library).

"The library had six levels aboveground and two levels below. The sublevels, where the stacks were, were shaped strangely and accessible only from certain staircases; it almost felt like the stacks were tucked under other buildings around campus." - Fangirl, 54