Top Ten Tuesday #17

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This weeks topic is Top Ten Books Every ______ Should Read. I've decided to go with Top Ten Books Every Kid Should Read. I've gone with this topic because both of my boys have decided to participate in the Reading Fair at their school (such a proud mama), and there are so many books out there to choose from that my youngest is having a hard time picking out one for his project. 

  Top Ten Books Every Kid Should Read

Green Eggs and Ham by: Dr. Seuss

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by: Laura Joffe Numeroff

Charlotte's Web  by: E. B. White

The Borrowers by: Mary Norton

James and the Giant Peach by: Roald Dahl

The Boxcar Children by: Gertrude Chandler Warner

Sideways Stories From Wayside School by: Louis Sachar

The Swiss Family Robinson by: Johann David Wyss

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by: Dr Seuss

Oh, the Places You'll Go! by: Dr. Seuss

So my little one finally decided to go with Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, which I think will be a good to book to go with since he is only in kindergarten and it's a classic children's book.

So what was your topic this week and what books did you go with?

REVIEW: The City Center by: Simone Pond

Synopsis: 

Ava didn't want to be right. Not about her city. Not about their leader, Chief Morray. But when Joseph gives her a secret journal from the past, the truth is revealed. She escapes with Joseph to the Outside, sending Chief Morray on an obsessive pursuit to retrieve his property. Ava has to decide if she should keep running, or return to the city center to save her people.

Review:

Ava is in the running to be in the next Royal Court and has been the favorite for many years to be the next Queen. The only thing is , that unlike everyone else, she really couldn't care less and doesn't want to be the Queen or even in the Royal Court. Ava can tell she's not like everyone else, she feels and sees things differently. Her entire world and everything she has ever known is turned upside down the minuet that the Outsider, Joseph, breaks into her City and gives her a journal. Upon reading the journal, Ava has countless questions and the only way she can get answers is to leave the only place she has ever known and escape to the Outside with Joseph. Of course that doesn't sit well with Chief Morray and he launches a huge manhunt to find her.

 It took me a couple of chapters to get into the story but after that I was hooked. Simone Pond spun a dystopian that was utterly captivating. The futuristic technology within this world was absolutely amazing, there were microchips implanted in the index finger that linked the characters to the ''internet'' and a wide array of information , everything is run off of huge solar panels, the living quarters are synced to the person living there and many, many more things. Simone Pond constructed an amazing world.

Ava was a fun character to follow. She questioned the ways of her world from the beginning and knew she was different because of it. Her absolute love and devotion for her best friend Delilah was refreshing. 

Delilah is Ava's best friend but because of their class differences they're unable to spend more than a few fleeting moments here and there. I would have loved a chance to see more interactions between Delilah and Ava. 

From the moment that Joseph is introduced to the reader you get the sense that he's  a strong willed individual. Willing to risk his very life he breaks into the walled City to pass on some information that he thinks could save Ava's people. I really liked Joseph's character, he seemed really easy to get along with.

Chief Morray is the villain in the story. To be honest the dude kinda creeped me out. He develops a creepy  stalker type obsession with Ava and knows no boundaries when it comes to getting her back into the City. His creep factor went up tremendously the more you learn about the things that he does to the citizens of the City unbeknownst to them.

I felt that Ava and Joseph's relationship was a little rushed. It worked for the story but I personally would have loved to see it develop over a period of time. There was no love triangle in the book which was a little refreshing. I mean don't get me wrong I love a good love triangle but it was a nice change for me and Simone Pond did a wonderful job in writing it. 

I'll try not to get to off topic here but I've heard where there are a few if not a lot of people comparing The City Center to The Hunger Games, and as a huge fan of THG I just don't see it. The only similarities I've noticed are that both books are dystopians and both main characters are oppressed by their governments. Ava and Katniss have totally different personalities and go through different struggles in which they handle those struggles in completely different ways.

 The City Center is a well pace, well written, exciting read. All in all I really enjoyed The City Center by Simone Pond and highly recommend it. I feel it is suitable for preteens and up, there is no foul language, a small amount of violence towards the end but nothing to worry about, and a PG rated romance. 


(C) 2016 Andrea Hatfield All Rights Reserved

Find The City Center here at Amazon.com

I'm Back!!!!

I'm Baaaaccckkk!!!!!

I'm back from my overly extended unannounced hiatus. I apologize to all my followers and fellow bloggers for just dropping off the face of the map. Things got kinda hectic for a while and still are but I missed blogging about books and reviewing books so I'm trying to work things around so I'll have more time to review. 

As of right now I'm going to try to get one review up a week and see how that goes. Hopefully it won't take me to long to get back into the swing of things and go back to blogging more often.

Feature and Follow #12

Feature and Follow is a weekly feature hosted by TWO hosts: Alison from Alison Can Read and Parajunkee from Parajunkee's View. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way they will be able to show off more new blogs. 

Rules:

1.) (REQUIRED) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts

(Alison Can Read and Parajunkee)

2.) (REQUIRED) Follow the Featured Bloggers

3.) Put your Blog name and URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to put it in your post.

4.) Grab the button and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say ''hi'' and that they are now following you. 

5.) If you are using Wordpress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friend Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed.

6.) Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also don't just follow, comment and say ''hi''. Another blogger might not know you're a new follower if you don't say ''HI". 

7.) If someone comments and say they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers. 

8.) If you're new to the Follow Friday hop, comment and let the hosts know so they can check out your blog.

This Weeks Question:

If you had the money what would your own personal library look like? What would be in it? What colors, decorations, etc would you put in it?


My Answer:

It's every book lovers dream to have their own personal library, and while we all have that one thing common, we differ in the style and setup of that dream. For me personally I like the whole idea of like a secret room with a secret passage way maybe concealed behind an ordinary bookshelf. My little secret sanctuary would have at least 2 levels and all the decorations would be bookish in some way but I really would like it to be primitive and not the country primitives you see everywhere (although those are cute, just not my vision). I've found some pictures on Pinterest that I like, it's just a few ideas and not exactly how I envision my dream library but close.

I really like this forest style. I would like to have the trees in my little escape, and think it would be really neat if the bookshelves could be made out of logs instead of boards. It's no secret that I love the woods as much as I love reading so it would be awesome if I could merge the two in my own home.

I would love to have a spiral staircase leading to the 2nd level, but instead of the iron work on the side I would love to have the designs made out of dried grape vines, and like the bookshelves I would like the railing to be made out of logs.

I really liked this and think it would be neat to add to my spiral staircase. Maybe not these exact book titles but you get the idea.

And then all kinds of bookish decorations like this.

So what would your library look like?

REVIEW: Arcane by: Sever Bronny

Author: Sever Bronny
Publisher: Sever Bronny Ltd.
Release Date: November 24, 2014

Synopsis: 

Fourteen-year-old Augum and friends Bridget and Leera dream of becoming warlocks. But with a kingdom in total chaos, it will take courage, sacrifice, and an iron will to make that dream come true.

The Lord of the Legion, a vicious tyrant, has overthrown the king in a relentless and murderous quest for seven mythic artifacts--and Augum's mentor, the legendary Anna Atticus Stone, possesses one. While Augum struggles with demons from a painful childhood, a betrayal puts him, his friends, and his mentor through a harrowing ordeal that threatens to destroy them all ... and change the course of history.


Arcane, the debut novel in the fantasy adventure series The Arinthian Line, follows three friends as they navigate an ancient abandoned castle, endure grueling training, challenge old mysteries, and learn that a bond forged in tragedy might just be the only thing to save them from a ruthless enemy.

Review:

Augum is a fourteen year old boy who has had it a lot harder in life than most other kids around him. For as long as he can remember he has been an orphan. He's constantly being made fun of and mistreated because of it. Augum loses a lot throughout Arcane but he gains a lot when he befriends Bridget and Leera. Together the three friends are thrust into an epic journey of survival and self discovery. 

I can't even describe how cool I thought Arcane was. I enjoyed it so much, I didn't want to put it down. Everything within the scenery, setting and dialect screamed medieval times, and I found that very refreshing. I've always been fascinated with that time period.

Sever Bronny did  an amazing job with the character development, story progression and the story line. Within the first chapter I was invested with what happened with Augum. Sever wrote with such clarity that I was instantly transported to the world in which Arcane is centered around.      

Augum was a really well developed character and I got attached to him fairly quick. I loved how despite everything that he has to go through he never gives up. Yeah, it may get him down but he still manages to keep persevering and manages to overcome every obstacle thrown at him.  I really liked that even though he gets bullied he's determined to stand up for himself and others. Augum, because of being an orphan, has never had any friends until Bridget comes into the picture and I liked watching him learn what goes along with friendship and what it means to have friendships. You get a chance to see a lot of his backstory too, which gave the story that much more depth.

Mrs. Stone is something else. Her character has such depth. She's like 70 or 80 years old and can kick so major behind  but she's also like a strict no nonsense grandmother. As the story develops you get a glimpse into her past and how she ended up where she is in life. I really enjoyed how Mrs. Stone took on the responsibility of being a guardian to the kids and being there for them when the needed it. I did find her teaching techniques a little odd but I guess whatever gets the job done. 

Bridget was someone that you would instantly want as your friend. She's very kind, considerate, polite, and loyal. From the moment that Bridget was first introduced she's instantly likable.  

Leera was so funny and she said what was on her mind the minuet that it popped into her head. She's also very loyal to her friends and instantly took up with Augum. I really enjoyed the repertoire that occurred when you got her together with Augum and Bridget, and the comments that were spoken whenever the prince would be in her presence. 

I really enjoyed reading Arcane and following along with Augum's story. I felt that the pace was perfect and exactly how it should be for each particular part of the book. Everything is in there for a wonderful book, character development, pacing, action, heartache, discovery, growth, and many, many more things. Sever Bronny did an exceptional job with Arcane and I can't wait to get my hands on Riven, the second book in The Arinthian Line series.

I highly suggest giving Arcane a try, it's a very fun, fast and entertaining read. This is a book that I feel most ages could get into easily. Although it is intended for the teen years I see no reason why an adult wouldn't be able to enjoy this book, I know I absolutely LOVED it!! So go out right now and find a copy of Arcane by Sever Bronny! I've listed a link at the bottom of where it can be found.



Amazon

And while you're here you can take a look at Sever Bronny's webpage also. He posts all kinds of things pertaining to the book world. http://severbronny.com/

June Recap

We Are Watching by: M. Stephen Stewart

Henry Malone's childhood was shattered by the unexplained suicide of his father. Now a teenager, his days are spent studying to become a Neural Implant Technician for Planetary Link Corporation, helping them maintain an iron grip over his walled country and every iota of knowledge contained within—but he leads a double life. Henry’s nights are spent helping his mother wage a cyber war against them in her quest to find the truth behind his father’s death. 

He's managed to keep his two lives separate, a delicate balance that's endangered after he repairs the neural implant of a stranger. He finds she’s in possession of illegal memories from the outside world, unauthorized knowledge of his father, and a message: speak to me later and tell no one. Henry has a choice to make—ignore the message and maintain his double-life, or answer and risk everything to uncover secrets Planetary Link would kill to keep buried. 

Rarity from the Hollow by: Robert Eggleton

Lacy Dawn is a true daughter of Appalachia, and then some. She lives in a hollow with her worn-out mom, her Iraq War disabled dad, and her mutt Brownie, a dog who's very skilled at laying fiber optic cable. Lacy Dawn's android boyfriend, DotCom, has come to the hollow with a mission. His equipment includes infomercial videos of Earth's earliest proto-humans from millennia ago. DotCom has been sent by the Manager of the Mall on planet Shptiludrp: he must recruit Lacy Dawn to save the Universe in exchange for the designation of Earth as a planet which is eligible for continued existence within a universal economic structure that exploits underdeveloped planets for their mineral content. Lacy Dawn’s magic enables her to save the universe, Earth, and, most importantly, her own family.


The 13th: Destiny Awaits by: Ela Lond

Kate, the school outcast, has always been able to see ghosts, and she constantly fears that someday, her so-called 'gift' will drive her mad like it did her mother, who has now been confined to a mental asylum. With the ever-present ghosts, her institutionalized mother, the unwanted attention from a bully and everything else going on in a teenage girl’s life, all Kate wants is to graduate quickly and without troubles. But that becomes impossible when Ethan, a gorgeous new transfer student, takes an interest in her, claiming that she is the Soul Reaper, and that he is there to train her. Things get even worse when her nemesis, the school bully Sandra, decides that she wants Ethan for herself. 



The 13th: Frozen Destiny by: Ela Lond

This is a short (15,000 words long) paranormal fantasy. 


In the haunted ruins of an old monastery, seven teenagers have gone missing in recent years. Kate, who is the Soul Reaper and helps ghosts who can't cross over by themselves, goes with her friends during their summer vacation to investigate. Once there, they find themselves tangled up in the deceptions of the dead, trapped like flies in a spider web.







Book of the Month:

Upcoming Reviews:

Arcane by Sever Bronny
The City Center by: Simone Pond
The Edge of the Woods by:  Ceinwen Langley
Trespassers by: Todd Wynn and Tim Wynn

REVIEW: The 13th: Frozen Destiny by: Ela Lond

Author: Ela Lond
Smashwords
Release Date: March 29, 2014


Synopsis:

This is a short (15,000 words long) paranormal fantasy. 


In the haunted ruins of an old monastery, seven teenagers have gone missing in recent years. Kate, who is the Soul Reaper and helps ghosts who can't cross over by themselves, goes with her friends during their summer vacation to investigate. Once there, they find themselves tangled up in the deceptions of the dead, trapped like flies in a spider web.


Review:

This short story takes place not to long after The 13th: Destiny Awaits lets off. Kate, Ethan, Mandy and Tyler are on a summer break from school and decide to take a road trip to a haunted monastery to play ghost busters. 

I got kind of confused towards the beginning and thought that I had somehow skipped way ahead but kept on reading just to see where it lead. That was they only time during the read that things kind of didn't make sense. It was almost like the author just started writing a different story with the same characters part way through Frozen Destiny.  By the time I reached the end of the story I had everything worked out and was thinking ''oh I get it now''. For this being a short story I felt there was a lot packed into it's 52 pages. After I had my Aha moment and understood everything I thought it was a really good read.

 I do recommend that if you've read Ela Lond's The 13th: Destiny Awaits that you give this corresponding short story a go. The 13th: Frozen Destiny is a very fast and easy read. I do suggest that you read The 13th: Destiny awaits before you read The 13th: Frozen Destiny otherwise you'll be that much more confused.

(c) 2015 Andrea Hatfield All Rights Reserved

REVIEW: The 13th: Destiny Awaits by: Ela Lond

Author: Ela Lond
Smashwords Edition
Release Date: October 1, 2013

Synopsis: 

Kate, the school outcast, has always been able to see ghosts, and she constantly fears that someday, her so-called 'gift' will drive her mad like it did her mother, who has now been confined to a mental asylum. With the ever-present ghosts, her institutionalized mother, the unwanted attention from a bully and everything else going on in a teenage girl’s life, all Kate wants is to graduate quickly and without troubles. But that becomes impossible when Ethan, a gorgeous new transfer student, takes an interest in her, claiming that she is the Soul Reaper, and that he is there to train her. Things get even worse when her nemesis, the school bully Sandra, decides that she wants Ethan for herself. 

Review:

Kate's always been different than other kids, she can see ghosts. Her mother taught her a few tricks to make her sight of ghosts go away, but they no longer work. She used to have friends until the incident with her mom, now she prefers to stay in the background. The only friends she has now is Tyler, a popular school athlete, and Mandy, a transfer student from Japan. Ethan, Mandy's brother, takes an interest in Kate and that draws the attention of her tormentor, Sandy, even more. Sandy becomes even more fixated in torturing Kate, when she can't draw Ethan's attention. With all of that happening in Kate's life she learns that the reason she can see ghosts is because she is the Soul Reaper and has a job to do. Can Kate handle all that pressure or will it all cause her to break? 

Kate is the main character and the story is told through her perspective. I really liked her character. She's a teenager that has the ability to see ghosts yet she hides from them because that is all she has been taught to do her whole life. She's had to deal with her mother being institutionalized and her father always being absent so she has had to grow up really quick. She does come off as kind of whiny at times but honestly I don't blame her. 

Tyler has been Kate's best friend and neighbor since like preschool. He's the school's star athlete and most popular guy. He comes off as a pretty good guy and only wants what's best for Kate and to help her however he can. He stands up for her when the other students try to pick on her. 

Mandy is a transfer student from Japan and has become friends with Kate. She seems like a really sweet girl. Kate helps to get Mandy and Tyler in a relationship so we really don't get a huge look in to her character. 

Ethan is Mandy 's brother and I got mixed vibes from him the whole time. One minuet he seems like all he wants is to get to know Kate better and help her out then the next minuet he seems like all he is doing is using her for various reasons. It isn't until towards 3/4 of the way through the book that you get a clear picture into the reasons. 

I gave The 13th: Destiny Awaits a 4 star rating because it kept me highly entertained. I love how Ela Lond put a different kind of spin on the whole Soul Reaper thing. When I read the synopsis and saw the words Soul Reaper I thought she was supposed to be there when people die so she could reap their souls but that's not how it goes at all. While the story does read like it is intended for a younger teenage audience I really enjoyed this book and was able to get into the whole story very quickly and easily. If anyone is looking for a refreshing paranormal read I suggest giving The 13th: Destiny Awaits a try.


(c) 2015 Andrea Hatfield All Rights Reserved

  

Feature and Follow #11

Feature and Follow is a weekly feature hosted by TWO hosts: Alison from Alison Can Read and Parajunkee from Parajunkee's View. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way they will be able to show off more new blogs. 

Rules:

1.) (REQUIRED) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts

(Alison Can Read and Parajunkee)

2.) (REQUIRED) Follow the Featured Bloggers

3.) Put your Blog name and URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to put it in your post.

4.) Grab the button and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say ''hi'' and that they are now following you. 

5.) If you are using Wordpress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friend Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed.

6.) Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also don't just follow, comment and say ''hi''. Another blogger might not know you're a new follower if you don't say ''HI". 

7.) If someone comments and say they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers. 

8.) If you're new to the Follow Friday hop, comment and let the hosts know so they can check out your blog.

This weeks question:

Is there a book that you were required to read in school that you actually loved?

Answer: 

The Lord of the Flies was the only book I was required to read in high school and I thought it was a really good book. 

What was a book that you were required to read in school and ended up loving?

Top Ten Tuesday #16

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week we're celebrating 5 years of Top Ten Tuesday posts, On June 21, 2010 TTT debuted. So this week we're focusing on the topic of our Top Ten Favorite Top Ten Tuesday Posts Within the last 5 Years. I've not been participating with the TTT meme for that long and here recently I've had to take a small break from participating for reasons that were not in my control so my list is going to be comprised of  TTT post from here recently. 

My list is in no particular order.

1.) Top Ten Books we'd like to see made into Movie/TV show.

2.) Top  Ten Authors I really want to meet.

3.) Top Ten Books I will probably never read.

4.) Top Ten Characters who -- I chose to go with poor.

5.) Top Ten All Time Favorite Authors

6.) Top Ten Inspiring or Meaningful Quotes.

7.) Top Ten Characters I'd Like To Check In With

8.)Top Ten Books I Recently Added To My To-Be-Read List

9.) Top Ten Books From My Childhood (or teen years) we'd love to revisit.

10.) Top Ten Bookish Problems

Please don't forget to check out my Giveaway here. There's just 2 days left.