Book Review - Wheels by Lorijo Metz

How did I come into possession of this book?

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.  This was the first time I’d been directly contacted by an author and not just a publisher, so it felt very personal and I was happy to read and review her book!

First Line:

“McKenzie remained in the game, but her brain had split in two.”  (Metz 1)

What is it about?

McKenzie Wu is seeing weird things that don’t seem to make sense to her.  After being sent to the principal’s office for racing down the hallway she is snooping where she shouldn’t be and the next thing she knows she is being sent on a whirlwind adventure involving some long lost ancestors of hers. 

What did I think?

I thought this was a very enjoyable read.  The beginning was a little tough, I had trouble figuring out what was going on and who thee characters were and a lot was happening very fast.  But once I got into the meat of the story I really stared enjoying it.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the interviews by the FBI agent and other letters scattered throughout the book, I didn’t think they added much to what was already a good story.  Something about Metz’s writing style is very light and almost always bordering on humorous.  I loved this aspect of it because it was very different from other authors I’ve read.  I also loved how she wound HG Wells into the book as a main character; it was just another element of fun in this book.

Who would I recommend it to?

You need to be a fan of science fiction involving other worlds; otherwise I don’t think you’d enjoy this book.  There are lots of made up words as well, so if that isn’t your cup of tea I wouldn’t suggest this book to you.  However if you like science fiction and want an author with a light and humorous voice (something you don’t always see in sci-fi) you should read this book!

  

Did you read this book and review it on your blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll add your link!

Book Review - Outpost by Ann Aguirre

How did I come into possession of this book?

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I guess I didn’t realize it was the second in a series (of which I hadn’t read the first book), but I thought I’d give it a try anyway and if I got too lost I’d go get the first in the series from the library.

First Lines:

“I woke to the cold kiss of steel on my throat.”  (Agiurre 1)

What is it about?

Being the second book in the series this book takes place after Deuce and some others have escaped to a place called Salvation.  Salvation is a safe place where they have patrols to keep away the Freaks (monsters) and seem to have a more normal way of life.  Deuce is having a hard time fitting into this new community and just being a regular teenage girl. So she decides to try and help and use her huntress instincts in any way she can.

What did I think?

I was a bit nervous since this was the second book in the series and I didn’t read the first.  But this book seemed to read separately of the first and didn’t rely a lot on you knowing exactly what had happened.  The author did a good job on catching you up with relationships and giving you a good background without it cutting into the story too much.  There wasn’t a lot of action at first but you could almost feel like something was going to happen, and then it did.  I really enjoyed this book, it had some different ideas than some of the other dystopian books, and I can’t wait to see where it heads in the third book.  I don’t feel like it’s necessary for me to go back and read the first book, but I will definitely be reading the third!

Who would I recommend it to?

Even though I didn’t, you should have probably read the first book in the series, from what I can tell it seems even more action packed and would lead you right into this book.  I haven’t heard much talk about this series but its right up there in the ranks of Divergent, Delirium, Matched, and the Chaos Walking trilogy.  I think it might even read better than some of those, and not feel quite as young adult.  If you like dystopian this is a good series to read!

Did you read this book and review it on your blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll add your link!

November!

The month just started and we are off with a bang!  Couple of updates:

First, WOOOO!  Elections are done and I couldn’t be happier.  I’m happy to keep Obama around, but I’m even more happy about the states passing gay marriage (such a good sign for the future) and about the strong showing for women.  Not only did the two wacko senatorial candidates who made ignorant statements about abortions and rape not get voted into the senate, but the first Asian woman, first disabled woman, and first openly gay women have all be elected into the senate.  Also, New Hampshire will have all women in the house and senate delegations and a woman governor.  WOW, that is fantastic!

(changing topics a bit)

Second, I am attempting NaNoWriMo again.  You know 50,000 in the month of November.  Last year I hit 10,000 and that was the most I’ve ever written so I think anything above that would be a victory for me.  My blog posts will be a bit less because of this, and my pile of books to be reviewed may sit unnoticed for a little while.  (I also added a review policy to my blog, check it out! Any advice is greatly appreciated)

Third, I have not done a football Friday for a while.  But I will, soon, and I will discuss the quarterback situation and my thoughts on who should be playing and the future of that position!  Go Blue!

This is all a bit delayed because we just moved and getting the whole Internet thing didn't happen right away...

Oh and I can't forget that starting the day after Halloween it is officially Christmas music day!  Yeah, y'all might not agree with me, but I love Christmas music and it just makes me so happy this time of year!  For a look at some of my favs (which are probably ones you haven't heard) check out this and this from RoB's 12 days of xmas last year.