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Smashbomb (4683 KP) created a post in Friends of Smashbomb
Mar 6, 2019 (Updated Mar 6, 2019)
Kyera (8 KP) rated Illuminae: The Illuminae Files: Book 1 in Books
Feb 1, 2018
The layout of this book was so unique - rather than a straight narrative, you were able to experience the story through short bursts via IM chats, 3rd-party observations while transcribing security video, and AI logs. The characters developed over the course of the novel, but it was surprisingly the artificial intelligence A.I.D.E.N. that stole the show. It was an enjoyable story and the plot wasn't predictable. I highly recommend the book to fans of young adult/teen novels, science fiction and truly well thought out narratives.
Michelle (114 KP) rated Marked (House Of Night #1) in Books
Apr 21, 2018
When I first saw this Vampire Y A book I thought it would become a good series to collect as its about a group of kids who have been marked to become Vampires and sent to The House Of Night Vampire School. In the first book we learn about Zoey who has just become a student at the Vampire school. As the series goes on the books get boring. Not one of the best buys in Young Adult fiction.
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated MILA 2.0 (MILA 2.0 #1) in Books
Mar 28, 2020
Just Because
I can not decide what I liked best about this book or what I liked least. However, it was a good young adult book for those who like science fiction with a little bit of romance mixed in.
MILA's world is turned upside down when an accident involving her falling out of the back of a truck end with her mother giving her some information that she would have never guessed. This information starts MILA on a journey to find herself and her place in this world.
MILA's world is turned upside down when an accident involving her falling out of the back of a truck end with her mother giving her some information that she would have never guessed. This information starts MILA on a journey to find herself and her place in this world.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Bloodthirsty in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Just when I thought I didn't have any more patience for Young Adult fiction, along comes this book. A book so funny, so sweet, so true that it has made me give the genre another chance. The main character, Finbar Frame, is absolutely endearing in all his geekiness and attempts at being cool by becoming a vampire. The plot is simple and it's no surprise where the story goes or how it ends, but it is Finbar himself that makes the book a delight to read. <u><b>Bloodthirsty</b></u> is a very short and easy read that was most enjoyable.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Unknown Reality in Books
Nov 28, 2019
Chloe lives with her family in what seems to be a fairly normal life. But after meeting a stranger during a trip to the theatre, she starts to realise that all might not be as it seems and her world - and her entire life- might be nothing more than a simulation. Abruptly thrown out of the only existance she has known she has to face up to a different reality. She must adapt to her new circumstances and new reality when all she wants is to return 'home'.
Following on from the young adult fantasy stories of Truth Teller and The Wrath of Siren, Chambers once again sets out to encourage an interest in fiction in young adults, in this case science fiction. Once again he produces an interesting and engaging work, choc full of characters and ideas. Just the first few chapters contain enough material for the average science fiction work but Chambers goes further, layering further nuanced plots and subplots together and managing to spin them together into a terrific ending.
Chloe is a strong protagonist, intelligent and thoughtful while always remaining an 11 year old in outlook and the reader will really root for her and want her to succeed. The world Chambers creates is very well described and imagined, relying on science fiction standards for some parts but carefully avoiding cliche and doing what science fiction does best - highlight some of the folly of the real world.
Yet another terrific book from Chambers, one of those authors who is a 'must read' for my teenage sons.
Following on from the young adult fantasy stories of Truth Teller and The Wrath of Siren, Chambers once again sets out to encourage an interest in fiction in young adults, in this case science fiction. Once again he produces an interesting and engaging work, choc full of characters and ideas. Just the first few chapters contain enough material for the average science fiction work but Chambers goes further, layering further nuanced plots and subplots together and managing to spin them together into a terrific ending.
Chloe is a strong protagonist, intelligent and thoughtful while always remaining an 11 year old in outlook and the reader will really root for her and want her to succeed. The world Chambers creates is very well described and imagined, relying on science fiction standards for some parts but carefully avoiding cliche and doing what science fiction does best - highlight some of the folly of the real world.
Yet another terrific book from Chambers, one of those authors who is a 'must read' for my teenage sons.
Becs (244 KP) rated A Wrinkle in Time in Books
Oct 2, 2019
Genre: Fiction, literary classic, children’s, young adult, science fiction.
Audience: children – young adult.
Reading level: middle school.
Interests: science fiction, fantasy, mythical creatures
Style: Fantasy Sci-Fi
Point of view: Third Person with a mix of first person.
Difficulty reading: Not at all! As easy as eating a piece of cake.
Promise: Ground-breaking science fiction.
Quality: Like a banana split with extra sprinkles and a cherry on top on a hot day. 🙂
Insights: I absolutely kick myself in the a** for the not reading this sooner. I think everybody should read it, no matter how old you are. And I didn’t know it was part of a 5 book series until today! SAY WHATTTT!!!??? I’m definitely purchasing the complete series brand new (the copy I have is my mother’s and it’s old and ragedy).
Ah-Ha Moment: THE ENTIRE BOOK. No joke. Like I wasn’t expecting the main character to be a girl, let alone so young and to have such an ordinary family. You don’t see that typically!
Favorite Quotes: “Like and equal are not the same thing at all.” – This is great, especially with our history as human beings. We need to be seen as equals not just ‘like’.
“Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.” – Be true to yourself, for there is nobody like you in the entire universe.
“Experiment is the mother of knowledge.” – You can’t just go into life expecting to know everything and how it’s all going to end. You have to experiment because then you gain the knowledge that others may have not known.
Aesthetics: My old first edition copy has a really neat cover, it’s what drew me in originally. I loved the take on the story and how in my mind, I can actually imagine the different characters and their surroundings. It’s a weird yet interesting book.
“People are more than just the way they look.”
Audience: children – young adult.
Reading level: middle school.
Interests: science fiction, fantasy, mythical creatures
Style: Fantasy Sci-Fi
Point of view: Third Person with a mix of first person.
Difficulty reading: Not at all! As easy as eating a piece of cake.
Promise: Ground-breaking science fiction.
Quality: Like a banana split with extra sprinkles and a cherry on top on a hot day. 🙂
Insights: I absolutely kick myself in the a** for the not reading this sooner. I think everybody should read it, no matter how old you are. And I didn’t know it was part of a 5 book series until today! SAY WHATTTT!!!??? I’m definitely purchasing the complete series brand new (the copy I have is my mother’s and it’s old and ragedy).
Ah-Ha Moment: THE ENTIRE BOOK. No joke. Like I wasn’t expecting the main character to be a girl, let alone so young and to have such an ordinary family. You don’t see that typically!
Favorite Quotes: “Like and equal are not the same thing at all.” – This is great, especially with our history as human beings. We need to be seen as equals not just ‘like’.
“Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.” – Be true to yourself, for there is nobody like you in the entire universe.
“Experiment is the mother of knowledge.” – You can’t just go into life expecting to know everything and how it’s all going to end. You have to experiment because then you gain the knowledge that others may have not known.
Aesthetics: My old first edition copy has a really neat cover, it’s what drew me in originally. I loved the take on the story and how in my mind, I can actually imagine the different characters and their surroundings. It’s a weird yet interesting book.
“People are more than just the way they look.”
MoMoBookDiary (20 KP) rated Good Me, Bad Me in Books
Oct 1, 2018
I found this novel to be very disturbing – but isn’t that the point of psychological thrillers?
The author has told a very interesting, yet chilling, tale which I found difficult to read at times but was so hooked that I had to keep reading – and read it in a day.
I did struggle with the author’s style of writing at the beginning. It seemed more young adult fiction than psychological but once I got over the tone I did enjoy the book, although did find it predictable.
Thanks to Ali Land, Penguin UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this new and exciting novel for 2017.
The author has told a very interesting, yet chilling, tale which I found difficult to read at times but was so hooked that I had to keep reading – and read it in a day.
I did struggle with the author’s style of writing at the beginning. It seemed more young adult fiction than psychological but once I got over the tone I did enjoy the book, although did find it predictable.
Thanks to Ali Land, Penguin UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this new and exciting novel for 2017.
Southern Today (21 KP) rated And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga #1) in Books
Nov 7, 2017
And I Darken: Audio Book Review
Contains spoilers, click to show
Historical fiction! Heavy on the fiction, light on the historical, and a good young adult. Now, this is young adult fiction, the kind that even adults can appreciate. Though, this is not for YOUNG young adults. If you are wary of what your kids read, stay away from this. I enjoyed this story, and loved the twists and turns the author took us on.
Again, I did not like the voice of the reader for this novel. She was grating, could not do much variation of the voices and I wish she would not have tried, and was the reason I often considered stopping the track. And I have no idea how to spell any of the names without looking them up.
This novel, by Kiersten White, follows Lada and Radu, in the 1400s, in the Ottoman empire as insurances for the Sultan.
I wonder if, like many young adult series, this would have been better as a single book with the next being far in the future or following other characters during the same time frame.
If you enjoy war novels, historically-set novels, or stories of growing up in difficult circumstances will enjoy this.
Alright, SPOILERS BELOW, SPOILERS BELOW, PLEASE SCROLL FOR DISCUSSION there, that is out of the way.
So, this book covers a good lifetime, showing us the development, fully, of characters. Saw the gay man coming as soon as he was born, which is kind of sad. Why, why make the gay man beautiful? Why make it so obvious from the start?
Why have her fall in love with the future Sultan?
I wanted her, based on the description of the book, to be in her homeland more often than they are. The hatred between the siblings isn't what is odd, but what causes it. How Radu doesn't understand Lada's love towards him and what drives her. I do not understand it.
This book is also supposed to be a gender-bend of Dracula the Impaler. Which is interesting, because I did not figure that out from reading it. It is the correct time period, but gender bending DOESN'T WORK historically. I am sorry, it would be far to complicated to do that. It, it just doesn't work. You can write it and ponder what it would have been if one character was different. But not all. So, is that what this is?
I think I will be reading (or listening?) to the second book of this.
THIS VOICE IS TERRIBLE!
Alright, there. Little bits done
Again, I did not like the voice of the reader for this novel. She was grating, could not do much variation of the voices and I wish she would not have tried, and was the reason I often considered stopping the track. And I have no idea how to spell any of the names without looking them up.
This novel, by Kiersten White, follows Lada and Radu, in the 1400s, in the Ottoman empire as insurances for the Sultan.
I wonder if, like many young adult series, this would have been better as a single book with the next being far in the future or following other characters during the same time frame.
If you enjoy war novels, historically-set novels, or stories of growing up in difficult circumstances will enjoy this.
Alright, SPOILERS BELOW, SPOILERS BELOW, PLEASE SCROLL FOR DISCUSSION there, that is out of the way.
So, this book covers a good lifetime, showing us the development, fully, of characters. Saw the gay man coming as soon as he was born, which is kind of sad. Why, why make the gay man beautiful? Why make it so obvious from the start?
Why have her fall in love with the future Sultan?
I wanted her, based on the description of the book, to be in her homeland more often than they are. The hatred between the siblings isn't what is odd, but what causes it. How Radu doesn't understand Lada's love towards him and what drives her. I do not understand it.
This book is also supposed to be a gender-bend of Dracula the Impaler. Which is interesting, because I did not figure that out from reading it. It is the correct time period, but gender bending DOESN'T WORK historically. I am sorry, it would be far to complicated to do that. It, it just doesn't work. You can write it and ponder what it would have been if one character was different. But not all. So, is that what this is?
I think I will be reading (or listening?) to the second book of this.
THIS VOICE IS TERRIBLE!
Alright, there. Little bits done
