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Threads That Bind
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Title: Threads That Bind
Author: Kika Hatzopoulou

Io Ora is a decendant of the Greek Fates and she is able to cut apart the threads that tie/bind people to things they love and the thread that binds their life too. In the book a women who has had her life thread severed but is still living commits murder and Io sees this happen. She can also see threads that bind soul mates together and in the book Io meets hers.

I love the cover on The Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou it pulled me in. I really love the illustration and the color palette that was used very pretty colors. I really enjoyed the plot of this story it grabs the attention of the reader and pull you in pretty fast. I loved the part where Io meets her soul mate and sees the thread binding them together it was very cute. I reccomend reading this book if you love Young Adult or Middle Grade novels that deal with the Greeks.
  
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Merissa (14116 KP) rated Awake in Books

May 24, 2023  
Awake
Awake
Natasha Preston | 2015 | Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
4
5.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book has all the ingredients for a good Young Adult Thriller, but for me, it just didn't quite work out that way. Perhaps it was the insta-love going on, with marriage mentioned very quickly into their 'relationship'. Perhaps it was the best friend who wasn't a best friend at all that I actually felt sorry for. Perhaps it was the dodgy behaviour of the main characters. I don't know. It just didn't quite work for me. There is also the fact that Scarlett makes a HUGE deal about not remembering anything before she was four, but has no hesitation in talking about it to a complete stranger at the first opportunity.

An interesting premise, with a cult aspect, that just didn't work for me. Try it for yourself though, don't take my word for it!

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 2, 2016
  
Johnny and the Dead (Johnny Maxwell #2)
Johnny and the Dead (Johnny Maxwell #2)
Terry Pratchett | 1993 | Children, Fiction & Poetry
7
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The late, great, Sir Terry Pratchett is probably better known for his Discworld novels.

Which, primarily albeit not exclusively, are aimed towards a more adult audience.

However, during the 1990's, he also wrote a trilogy of novels that were aimed at the younger audience, starting with Only You Can Save Mankind and ending with Johnny and the Bomb, with this one tucked away nicely in the middle. These novels have become known as the Johnny Maxwell trilogy, following the same core characters as Johnny Maxwell (obviously) and his friends Yo-less, Wobbler and Big Mac.

In this one, Johnny learns that the local cemetery is about to be demolished, which comes as news to the residents of said cemetery (who only Johnny is able to see - I kept waiting for the 'I see dead people' gag, before realising this was released before the movie 'The Sixth Sense'), and leading to a local outcry over the same.

It hits different now, 30 years on from when I first read it (due to life events).
  
Muse (Descended From Myth #1)
Muse (Descended From Myth #1)
Erin McFadden | 2013 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is written from the perspectives of both Anna and Daniel, so we get to see both sides. Anna is a bit of an anomaly as she is unaware of being a Talent, or anything that it entails. Daniel has grown up knowing what it is like to have a parent more interested in his charge, than with his family and is determined not to follow the same path. That intention gets blown out of the water as soon as he meets Anna.

This is a fast-paced young adult romance, filled with quirks and quips guaranteed to keep me amused whilst reading. I loved Anna's sense of humour and especially the Yoda quote she gives. That about killed me 😊 Daniel is hot in every way, well aware of the line between protective and obsessive.

Absolutely loved this book, and can't wait for more. Bring on book 2, Talent! Highly recommended.

* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 21, 2016
  
IA
I Am the Cheese
Robert Cormier | 2007 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
If I were to judge a book by its title or cover, Robert Cormier's I Am the Cheese is definitely not a book that I would pick up. In fact, I probably would have gone my entire life without touching it if it weren't for the fact that one of my teachers assigned it for my class in Young Adult Literature. For that reason, I'm glad I took the class.

Like most of Cormier's books, I Am the Cheese is set in the town of Monument, Massachusetts. It is a fictional setting based on the author's own home town. In this story, the main character is Adam Farmer and doubles as my pick for PopSugar's 2017 Reading Challenge as a book with an unreliable narrator, because young Adam Farmer is precisely that: unreliable.

Adam Farmer grows up with a rather complicated life: his family is part of the early stages of the Witness Protection Program. They are relocated to Monument after his father uncovers deeply rooted corruption among government officials and, as a result, testifies against them. Having been young at the time, Adam only knows his life as it now and goes about his day to day business as any boy his age would. He meets and falls in love with a girl named Amy and one day decides to skip school and bike to Rutterberg, Vermont so that he can deliver a gift to his father, who is currently in the hospital. As Adam tells us his story of visiting his father, we are simultaneously introduced to him in the future, where he is currently under psychiatric care. There, he is urged to recover his memories via sessions with Brint. During these sessions, the reader learns more Adam and his family.

I really can't say a whole lot more about the book other than that without revealing spoilers, but what I can say is that this book has more twists and turns with sharp jerks than those little mini-coaster rides at a theme park. You know, the ones that leave you with bruises instead of making you scream with glee? Even better, these twists are rather dark in nature - more so than I would have expected for a book labeled Young Adult back in the 70s. It's extremely rare for me to find myself questioning elements of story throughout an entire book, but I Am the Cheese succeeded in doing just that.

Another interesting element to I Am the Cheese, and one of the many traits it shares with Post-Modernism literature, is the use of several different styles of writing within its pages. While the book has alternating perspectives, there is a clear distinction when each perspective changes: first person is from Adam's point-of-view; the interview transcripts are from recordings of Brint and Adam speaking; the final style is third-person limited, with most of its focus centered directly on Adam and what goes on around him.

I was also surprised to learn, via my instructor, that the number Adam calls to try and reach Amy was actually Cormier's personal phone number. He had put it in the book so that if readers called it, they would be able to speak with him - particularly during less happy moments in their life. That alone is deserving of kudos.

I Am the Cheese is undoubtedly one of my favorite Young Adult books and, as a result, I definitely plan to read more of Cormier's books, especially since many of them have startlingly dark themes.