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tarabu42 (7 KP) rated The Transatlantic Conspiracy in Books
Nov 2, 2017
Exciting, fast-paced, no fluff
Classic conflicts of child/parent, friend/(boy)friend, working/privileged classes, come to a head with a brutal murder, pre-WWI industrial espionage, and a race to survive the crossing.
The publisher classes it as YA, but it is suitable for a well-read late middle grader as the murder is neither gory nor superfluous to the plot. The language is clear and direct, the dialogue natural, and the settings imaginative.
The publisher classes it as YA, but it is suitable for a well-read late middle grader as the murder is neither gory nor superfluous to the plot. The language is clear and direct, the dialogue natural, and the settings imaginative.
Sam (74 KP) rated On the Other Side in Books
Mar 27, 2019
I’ll begin by saying something quite controversial here that I know a lot of people won’t like:
If it wasn’t for Carrie Hope Fletcher’s YouTube fame, this wouldn’t have been taken on by a publisher. While reading it, I felt that it was more like a self-published title in quality and plot. It’s become a thing for YouTubers to bring out books and I feel like most of these will almost always lack quality. Publishers just take them on to have a bestseller because of the name on the cover.
I did like the plot, don’t get me wrong. It was interesting enough and kept me hooked all the way through. I quite liked Evie’s character and found her quite genuine. I feel that the plot and the characters could have all done well if it wasn’t for the wishy-washy writing style. The style made it seem more like Disney fan-fiction rather than a contemporary novel.
I did enjoy reading this, which is why it still has three stars from me. I binged it and found it quite a fun read. But I just couldn’t get over the bad writing style. The writing style would be more suitable for a YA audience than adult.
There’s no reason you wouldn’t enjoy it. If you’re a big fan of Disney or Carrie, you’d love this and it’s definitely worth seeing what it’s all about.
If it wasn’t for Carrie Hope Fletcher’s YouTube fame, this wouldn’t have been taken on by a publisher. While reading it, I felt that it was more like a self-published title in quality and plot. It’s become a thing for YouTubers to bring out books and I feel like most of these will almost always lack quality. Publishers just take them on to have a bestseller because of the name on the cover.
I did like the plot, don’t get me wrong. It was interesting enough and kept me hooked all the way through. I quite liked Evie’s character and found her quite genuine. I feel that the plot and the characters could have all done well if it wasn’t for the wishy-washy writing style. The style made it seem more like Disney fan-fiction rather than a contemporary novel.
I did enjoy reading this, which is why it still has three stars from me. I binged it and found it quite a fun read. But I just couldn’t get over the bad writing style. The writing style would be more suitable for a YA audience than adult.
There’s no reason you wouldn’t enjoy it. If you’re a big fan of Disney or Carrie, you’d love this and it’s definitely worth seeing what it’s all about.
The Miseducation of Evie Epworth
10.0
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Book
Sixteen year-old Evie Epworth stands on the cusp of womanhood. But what kind of a woman will she...
Suitable for YA Coming of Age
Requiem (Tales of the Five Realms #1)
8.0
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In a world where light and shade battle for hearts and minds, young rebel, Hagar, earns a...
Paranormal Romance
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Zeroes (Zeroes, #1) in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review </i>
The author of the <i>Uglies</i> series, Scott Westerfeld, has teamed up with co-writers Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti to create this exciting, whirlwind of a young adult novel. Many people wish they had a superpower, but what if there actually were people with them? <i>Zeroes</i> is a story about a group of teenagers with special gifts, however these unique abilities may be more dangerous than you would imagine.
The superpowers in this novel are not as conventional as the famous comic heroes. Some can control crowds with their minds or destroy electricity, and one blind character can even see through the eyes of others. Collectively these teenagers are called the <i>Zeroes</i>, but only amongst themselves.
Despite how cool it may seem to have these powers, their gifts can easily get themselves in to trouble. One of the teens, Ethan, accidently finds himself involved with drug dealers and a bank robbery, resulting in the police taking an interest. Whilst trying to get him out of this mess, the rest of the team cause even more trouble, sequentially making things worse and eventually leaving Ethan in a life threatening situation.
Told through six different characters, the reader gets the opportunity to learn about the individual powers and how each person deals with them. The novel is fast past with an explosive ending – literally – it is almost impossible to put it down. With an equal mix of male and female characters, it is suitable for all readers who enjoy YA, and by no means is it limited to teenagers only. You will find yourself wanting more.
The author of the <i>Uglies</i> series, Scott Westerfeld, has teamed up with co-writers Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti to create this exciting, whirlwind of a young adult novel. Many people wish they had a superpower, but what if there actually were people with them? <i>Zeroes</i> is a story about a group of teenagers with special gifts, however these unique abilities may be more dangerous than you would imagine.
The superpowers in this novel are not as conventional as the famous comic heroes. Some can control crowds with their minds or destroy electricity, and one blind character can even see through the eyes of others. Collectively these teenagers are called the <i>Zeroes</i>, but only amongst themselves.
Despite how cool it may seem to have these powers, their gifts can easily get themselves in to trouble. One of the teens, Ethan, accidently finds himself involved with drug dealers and a bank robbery, resulting in the police taking an interest. Whilst trying to get him out of this mess, the rest of the team cause even more trouble, sequentially making things worse and eventually leaving Ethan in a life threatening situation.
Told through six different characters, the reader gets the opportunity to learn about the individual powers and how each person deals with them. The novel is fast past with an explosive ending – literally – it is almost impossible to put it down. With an equal mix of male and female characters, it is suitable for all readers who enjoy YA, and by no means is it limited to teenagers only. You will find yourself wanting more.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated The Ghost, the Eggheads, and Babe Ruth's Piano in Books
Apr 27, 2018
THE GHOST, THE EGGHEADS, AND BABE RUTH’S PIANO
By Larry Sweitzer
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Freddie is a nerd, and he likes it that way. He keeps his grades up, he holds honors positions at his school, and he studies hard. But he’s only second best. Tony is his rival, and Tony is always putting him down. Tony and Freddie both go to Camp Mason over the summer, where Billy Mason died many years ago. Supposedly, there’s a ghost haunting the camp, but nobody has ever seen him.
Freddie is desperately trying to do three things: one, keep Tony from winning the scholarship at the end of the camp, two, find out about the ghost, and three, get a little closer to his crush, Ginny. But there are plenty of things stopping Freddie. How is he going to solve the mystery, win the scholarship competition, and put together sentences that make sense when he talks to Ginny?
The Ghosts, the Eggheads, and Babe Ruth’s Piano was hilarious. I enjoyed this story immensely! The story had the perfect amount of adventure, romance, tension, comic relief, and baseball. Now I’m not really Red Sox fan like Freddie is, but I now have a healthy respect for baseball. The cool part is, the baseball parts weren’t boring to me because of the way they were presented.
My favorite character was Zoe, the perky lively girl who ended up as Logan’s (Freddie’s friend) girlfriend by the end of the book (My second favorite had to be Harry Potter… Monty’s pet rat.), but I loved all the characters in this story. They had a lot of personality and were relatable and likeable (or in Tony’s case, hate-able.)
There were a lot of twists and turns that I didn’t expect! The pacing was perfect—it wasn’t too fast or too slow, and clues and keys were presented in a logical fashion. The end was totally unexpected and exciting, and got my blood racing. Freddie finally solves this mystery of how Billy died… and even though he didn’t win the scholarship competition, somehow ends up with money for college anyway.
Content: This book was wonderfully clean of everything.
Recommendation: Ages 10+, but suitable for teens as well.
**Thank you to Larry and Dorothy from Pump Up Your Book for supplying my review copy!**
By Larry Sweitzer
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Freddie is a nerd, and he likes it that way. He keeps his grades up, he holds honors positions at his school, and he studies hard. But he’s only second best. Tony is his rival, and Tony is always putting him down. Tony and Freddie both go to Camp Mason over the summer, where Billy Mason died many years ago. Supposedly, there’s a ghost haunting the camp, but nobody has ever seen him.
Freddie is desperately trying to do three things: one, keep Tony from winning the scholarship at the end of the camp, two, find out about the ghost, and three, get a little closer to his crush, Ginny. But there are plenty of things stopping Freddie. How is he going to solve the mystery, win the scholarship competition, and put together sentences that make sense when he talks to Ginny?
The Ghosts, the Eggheads, and Babe Ruth’s Piano was hilarious. I enjoyed this story immensely! The story had the perfect amount of adventure, romance, tension, comic relief, and baseball. Now I’m not really Red Sox fan like Freddie is, but I now have a healthy respect for baseball. The cool part is, the baseball parts weren’t boring to me because of the way they were presented.
My favorite character was Zoe, the perky lively girl who ended up as Logan’s (Freddie’s friend) girlfriend by the end of the book (My second favorite had to be Harry Potter… Monty’s pet rat.), but I loved all the characters in this story. They had a lot of personality and were relatable and likeable (or in Tony’s case, hate-able.)
There were a lot of twists and turns that I didn’t expect! The pacing was perfect—it wasn’t too fast or too slow, and clues and keys were presented in a logical fashion. The end was totally unexpected and exciting, and got my blood racing. Freddie finally solves this mystery of how Billy died… and even though he didn’t win the scholarship competition, somehow ends up with money for college anyway.
Content: This book was wonderfully clean of everything.
Recommendation: Ages 10+, but suitable for teens as well.
**Thank you to Larry and Dorothy from Pump Up Your Book for supplying my review copy!**
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Unchosen in Books
Jul 1, 2021
The protagonist of this book is Charlotte, she is a middle child out of three sisters and the least gifted one of them all. Her older sister Harlow is a popular guitar player and very strong personality in general, her younger sister Vanessa is a talented gymnast. All her life Charlotte is left living in Harlow’s shadow, loving the boy who is in love with her sister and taking care of Vanessa. She sounds pretty miserable until she is taken from the camp as the Chosen One, who will save everyone from Crimson. Only then I could see, that Charlotte is not as useless as she portrayed it. I have to admit, in the beginning, I thought that Harlow should be the main character, she was more suitable, but by the time I finished the book, I was glad that Charlotte was the protagonist. 🙂 This book has such a great selection of characters to choose from! I loved them all, they were very well presented and delivered.
The narrative of this book is very fast-paced, and there is always something happening in this book. Most of the book is spent on the ship sailing through the ocean, and I really enjoyed the sailor’s life portrayed in this book. There is plenty of action, turns and twists, and this book really had me hooked and entertained. I loved the romance in this book as well, it is exciting, full of sexual tension and very adorable. The topics discussed in this book are forbidden love, family relations, bravery, adventures, self-pity, friendships, overcoming your fears and phobias and many more.
I really enjoyed the world that the author created for the reader. I felt like I was alongside the characters during their journeys. It has very strong Bird Box vibes, but also there is so much more going on than that. The chapters are pretty short, and the pages just flew by. I loved the ending of this book, it left me very satisfied with the outcome.
So, to conclude, I loved this book, and could not put it down. I really liked the characters and the roles they played as well as the fast-paced and full of adventures plot. It has all the things I need for an enjoyable dystopian/fantasy YA book, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who likes pirates, ships and adventures.
The narrative of this book is very fast-paced, and there is always something happening in this book. Most of the book is spent on the ship sailing through the ocean, and I really enjoyed the sailor’s life portrayed in this book. There is plenty of action, turns and twists, and this book really had me hooked and entertained. I loved the romance in this book as well, it is exciting, full of sexual tension and very adorable. The topics discussed in this book are forbidden love, family relations, bravery, adventures, self-pity, friendships, overcoming your fears and phobias and many more.
I really enjoyed the world that the author created for the reader. I felt like I was alongside the characters during their journeys. It has very strong Bird Box vibes, but also there is so much more going on than that. The chapters are pretty short, and the pages just flew by. I loved the ending of this book, it left me very satisfied with the outcome.
So, to conclude, I loved this book, and could not put it down. I really liked the characters and the roles they played as well as the fast-paced and full of adventures plot. It has all the things I need for an enjoyable dystopian/fantasy YA book, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who likes pirates, ships and adventures.