Review: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Synopsis from Goodreads:

“Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world.”

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home: her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power — and the courage to battle her own inner demons?

 

Review:

 
Hunger pleasantly surprised me. It was clever, intriguing and offered an important message to contemporary young people. Hunger is about one girl's struggle against anorexia and Kessler has realistically and seriously shown what young people today are going through.

The characters are relatable and complex. I empathised with both Lisa and Tammy's (Lisa's new best friend) conditions and wished that they would go through an epiphany and realise the error of their ways.

I was already familiar with some of the information and habits that anorexia and bulimia consist of as I studied it in school, but it was shocking to read about this in Hunger, which made it into much more of a reality. 

I loved the fact that though the synopsis hinted at a very strange story inside, it was actually one of the most down-to-earth and emotional novels I've read this year. Kessler superbly balanced (balance being a key word in the book) Lisa's problems; friends, family, her love life and of course, most importantly, her anorexia.

While reading Hunger, I had a very strong feeling that the author must have gone through something similar because she could describe Lisa's feelings so well and so realistically. The emotional and heartfelt note at the end of the book supported this.

There were so many scenes that moved me in Hunger, but the two scenes that are engraved in my mind are when Lisa (as a Horseman) watches Tammy making herself sick in the bathroom. I thought this scene was perfect in its vividness and truth. The reader can feel everything Tammy goes through, but through Lisa's eyes. It was a strange and surreal passage.

The other scene is when Lisa is angry at her mother and uses her powers on her. The description was very vivid and graphic. I really liked the ways in which Lisa could use her power and this was a very unique aspect of the novel. While I have been saying that Hunger is very realistic, at the same time, it also felt like a moral story or a fable.

I believe this is because the story was on the short side length wise (180 pages) and because some of the characters weren't as developed as I would have liked them to be. Characters such as Death and War played their roles but the novel didn't explore them further and to the extent that it could have. While I liked the character of Death, he used the expressions 'Do you now?' and 'Well now' too much, however this is a small criticism.

Also, though Hunger ended satisfactorily, I would have liked  a more detailed ending in regards to Lisa's situation. Also, what ever happened to Tammy? This wasn't resolved.

Also, in my experience of YA books, parents are usually absent/dead/useless, so it was nice to see that Lisa's parents were actually 3D and though not the perfect parents, they developed well throughout the novel.

Overall, Hunger is a very exciting and important novel and I would definitely recommend this novel to everyone. I believe it reflects on important, sensitive and serious subjects yet at the same time, it is a very fun book to read. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Rage.

Book Rating: 4/5

Cover: 5/5

Concept: 4/5

Author: Jackie Morse Kessler

I received this book from Netgalley for review.

Nightwalker Cover re-creation entry

Recreate the cover of Nightwalker by Jocelynn Drake and/or make a button for the series and you could get 20 dollars to The Book Depository at Paper Cut Reviews. It's international and ends on the 19th of October. Everyone should enter!

Here's the original cover:



And mine:


Not totally pleased with it, but hey, it was fun to do:)

Nightshade Cover Contest Entry

Over at The Book Vixen, you can recreate the cover of Nightshade and have a chance of winning a signed copy of Nightshade. It will be judged by Andrea Cremer herself. Also, it's international! Go and enter!

Synopsis from Goodreads: Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything--including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

Original Cover:

My Cover:

What do you think?

Review: The Peculiar Superpowers of Eleanor Armstrong: A Zombie Love Story by K. A. Schloegel

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Teenage writer Eleanor Armstrong tells the story of her life as a collection of Facebook-esque entries interspersed with the chapters of the novel she is writing. She starts out writing a nice, quiet high school romance, depicting the love triangle between ultra-hip and smart Sarah – who is really just Eleanor with great hair, her geeky pal Marky – who is Eleanor’s pal in real life too, and popular jock Brandon – a character based on a boy who once spoke to Eleanor. But to her dismay, the novel turns to horror after zombies attack the school and kill Brandon. You know, just the usual “Boy meets girl. Boy turns into zombie. Zombie-boy loses girl. Zombie-boy gets girl.”

Huh?

Write what you know, Eleanor’s teacher tells her. And what she knows is a high school teeming with bored kids who will prey upon each other, can be kind, cruel, fall in love, or anything in between just to relieve the tedium of their existence. In other words, a school full of zombies. So Eleanor goes with it. Zombie attacks abound, both in her novel and her real life as an overlooked teenager with peculiar superpowers.

Goodreads~Amazon UK~Amazon US~Barnes&Noble

Review:

The Peculiar Superpowers of Eleanor Armstrong is humorous, action-packed and memorable. The main character, Eleanor, describes herself as a ‘plain-unusual’ girl; however, similarly to the character of Sarah that she creates in her story, she can be witty and spunky. Eleanor created the character of Sarah to project the traits that she wanted in herself, but thought she was lacking. I believe that by the end of the novel, Eleanor accepts herself for who she is.

The novel is laid out in such a way so that there is a chapter from Eleanor’s zombie story first and then Eleanor’s blog entries detailing events in her life, such as her feelings on the breakdown in the relationship between her friend Marky and herself, questions about her father’s safe and her feelings for a boy named Elijah- who spoke to her once. Interspersed with these are comments on the criticisms her teacher gave her story and a glimpse into the shocking relationship between her brother and a teacher.

The Peculiar Superpowers of Eleanor Armstrong was interesting as it depicted how Eleanor wanted to be in her ‘alter-ego’ Sarah. Therefore, the novel has a lot to do with the struggle to find an identity. This is mostly evident towards the end where Eleanor confronts her father about the reasons why her mother really left them and blames herself. I found this scene highly emotional as it expressed her vulnerabilities along with the scene where Elijah talks to her for the second time:

“Oh. Fat girl in the weight room,” he said. In the exact same tone of voice he had said, “What do you think of the assignment?”

The other boys laughed.

And I almost cried... because it was the second thing Elijah had said to me. What do you think of the assignment? And then fat girl in the weight room. (P.100)

The zombie story she writes is always fun and constantly moving. It was in total juxtaposition to Eleanor’s real life which, though interesting, was mostly ordinary. I thought that Eleanor could have explained the finer details of her zombie story more. In some instances, Sarah would know certain facts without anyone telling her and would act upon it and it wasn’t until the end of the story that I was told how she knew.

Additionally, Sarah told me how she knew certain facts (like where another character was) instead of showing me. Therefore, the revelation of how she had known a lot of things wasn’t as strong as it could have been as there was a lack of foreshadowing in the zombie story that Eleanor wrote and the explanation for it was somewhat complex. A last criticism was that there were a few spelling and grammar mistakes in the novel.

The Peculiar Superpowers of Eleanor Armstrong is well-paced and easy to read. There were times I was laughing out loud at the visual images formed. Most of the characters felt believable but the weakest were Doctor Who and the Zombie Queen from Eleanor’s story.

The story Eleanor wrote was highly entertaining and it certainly played on stereotypes of what a hero should be like and what a villain should be like. Eleanor went through a series of epiphanies throughout the novel and finally leaves us with some words of wisdom. The zombie story she wrote also concludes in a satisfying way.

Overall, I highly enjoyed The Peculiar Superpowers of Eleanor Armstrong and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in zombies, identity and lots of humour.

Read a preview here.

Book Rating: 4/5

Cover: 3/5

Concept: 4/5

Author: K. A. Schloegel

-Received from author.

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren so we can share what came in the post this week!

This is what I got in the last two/three weeks:) Sadly, no pictures this week because I have no camera (Boo!)

Review book:

My first book for review! Yippee!! It's The Peculiar Superpowers of Eleanor Armstrong: A Zombie Love Story by K. A. Schloegel *signed! (Review coming up straight after this!)

Bought:

Lord of the Rings Box Set by J. R. R. Tolkein- I needed this! It's classic, come on.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (Bound)- Love. It.

Uglies Box Set by Scott Westerfeld- Mostly loved the series so had to have it! Can't wait to read more from him. Read my reviews for it!

Turnabout by Margaret P Haddix- I loved this book when I was younger so I got it. Ah, childhood. Plus, I love this new cover.

Some books for school: Yeah, I have to read them. 13 Ways of Looking at The Novel by Jane Smiley and How Novels Work by John Mullan

Won:

Angel by L. A. Weatherly from Girls without a Bookshelf- I went on this treasure hunt in London. I recognised both locations but went to the first and was able to make it there at the allotted time! It was pouring down with rain! lol, still, it was very exciting to go on a treasure hunt. I felt like a spy. I had to go up to the ladies standing outside the shop with the GOODIE BAGS and who were wearing wings and say the password which was angel fever, answer three questions and that was it!:D There were also teaser chapters, an Angel poster and ANGEL CAKE in the goodie bag which was supremely delicious! :D

Saltwater Vampires by Kirsty Eagar, Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James, The Other Countess by Eve Edwards, Numbers by Rachel Ward and a Spellbound by Books bookmark from Melissa at Spellbound by Books! So, so happy! Can't wait to read them! They're all great! Thank youuuu! All the way from Australia too <3

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler from the 2009 Debutantes!

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause from Bea's Book Nook!

Unicorn Pin from Cecilia, The Epic Rat!

-That's a wrap. I am one happy girl.

What did you get in your mailbox?

My entry for the Minder Recreate a Cover contest at Blkosiner's Book Blog

Brandi at Blkosiner's Book Blog is holding a recreate a cover contest! We have to recreate the cover of Minder by Kate Kaynak! It's international, so go ahead and enter!

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Maddie Dunn is special, but she needs to figure out how to use her new abilities before somebody else gets hurt. Ganzfield is a secret training facility full of people like her, but it's not exactly a nurturing place. Every social interaction carries the threat of mind-control. A stray thought can burn a building to the ground. And people's nightmares don't always stay in their own heads. But it's still better than New Jersey--especially once she meets the man of her dreams...

Original Cover:

My Cover:

Yeah, I'm not sure about it.

Let me know what you think.

Review: H.I.V.E by Mark Walden

Summary from Goodreads:

HIGHER INSTITUTE OF VILLAINOUS EDUCATION

Otto Malpense may only be thirteen years old, but so far he has managed to run the orphanage where he lives, and he has come up with a plan clever enough to trick the most powerful man in the country. He is the perfect candidate to become the world's next supervillain.

That is why he ends up at H.I.V.E., handpicked to become a member of the incoming class. The students have been kidnapped and brought to a secluded island inside a seemingly active volcano, where the school has resided for decades. All the kids are elite; they are the most athletic, the most technically advanced, and the smartest in the country. Inside the cavernous marble rooms, floodlit hangars, and steel doors, the students are enrolled in Villainy Studies and Stealth and Evasion 101. But what Otto soon comes to realize is that this is a six-year program, and leaving is not an option.

With the help of his new friends: an athletic martial-arts expert; a world-famous, beautiful diamond thief; and a spunky computer genius -- the only other people who seem to want to leave -- can Otto achieve what has never been done before and break out of H.I.V.E.?
 
~~~~~~
 
Review:
 
H.I.V.E was a highly enjoyable book to read. The first in a six book series, it promises to make good reading. After reading the blurb of the book I was worried that the main character Otto Malpense would be a real villain who would thoroughly enjoy and thrive on evil.

However, the book was highly interesting to read as it relates the story of an unwilling inmate of the Higher Institute of Villainous Education and his attempts to escape the school with his newly made friends Wing, Laura and Shelby.


This is all complicated by his realisation that he is beginning to enjoy the lessons taught at H.I.V.E. The story begins with Otto’s arrival at H.I.V.E and his first impression of the school before detailing the key moments of his life and the momentous events leading to his sudden abduction to H.I.V.E in the form of a flashback.


I believe that this was a very effective device utillised by Walden as up until the very end of the flashback I was intrigued to know what Otto could have possibly done to end up at H.I.V.E.


H.I.V.E is fast-paced, action packed and gripping. The characters are well developed and 3d. Over the course of the book we learn a great deal about some of the characters such as the exploits which earnt them a place in H.I.V.E and the history of Otto Malpense as he is the central character.


However, the pasts of other equally interesting characters are shrouded in mistery which only makes me eager to read more. At the beginning of the book the most dangerous character which seems to pose a threat to Otto’s plans is Maximillian Nero, the headmaster of H.I.V.E who immediately recognises Otto as trouble and someone who will be difficult to control. Surprisingly, we find out that Otto’s real enemy is Nero’s boss, a mysterious character known by the codename Number 1.


Although the book was entertaining, one criticism is that Otto’s plan to put the Prime Minister under hypnosis and to make him recite a false and incriminating speech which was broadcast to the nation on television was unrealistic. Also, Otto’s power to soak in any information he reads almost instantaneously is robot-like.


Most of the action takes place in a top secret school on an island in an undisclosed location. The school complex is mainly underground and is very impressive. The pupils are taught a wide range of classes such as the best ways to avoid detection, how to assemble all sorts of villainous devices and how to use plants with highly unusual properties in their dastardly schemes.


There are various types of technology featured in the book. H.I.V.E Mind is an extremely complex artificial intelligence computer system that has the ability to experience emotion and has the task of running the school’s many systems smoothly. Some of H.I.V.E Mind’s duties include providing and monitoring security for the school and establishing personal interfaces for students and staff at the school to give them whatever information they require.


There were grapplers reminiscent of Batman which provided the students with the means to navigate the ceiling. One staff member managed to develop a mind transferring procedure which moved the consciousness of another teacher into the body of a cat. As well as this, there was the development of a gigantic bloodthirsty plant which had the characteristics of a voracious carnivore.


I really enjoyed reading H.I.V.E and I will definitely be reading the rest of the series. I would recommend this book to people who like the Alex Rider series , the Harry Potter series and the Young Bond series.


Book Rating: 4/5


Cover: 3/5


Concept: 4.5/5


Author: Mark Walden

-Reviewed by Loralin, a new contributor to the blog.