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Merissa (11646 KP) rated The Red Zone (Big Play, #2) in Books

Jan 17, 2019 (Updated Jun 7, 2023)  
The Red Zone (Big Play, #2)
The Red Zone (Big Play, #2)
Jordan Ford | 2016 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Red Zone (Big Play #2) by Jordan Ford
The second book in the series focuses on Mack and Kaija, although Colt and Tori still have integral roles to play to my unashamed pleasure! Mack is the Quarterback, the one every girl wants and every guy wants to be. He knows the 'rules' of the school, although he has his doubts when he sees how happy Tori and Colt are. It comes to a head when he sees Kaija for the first time and is instantly struck by her. Kaija feels the same way but has her own reasons for trying to stay away from him and keep under the radar.

Once again, this story is a smash!!! With believable characters that will have you laughing out loud at their prank war, and yet wiping your eyes at a different part, and a compelling and emotional storyline, this book is a fantastic addition to the Big Play series.

Exceedingly well written, smoothly paced, with enough angst to keep everyone happy, and no editing or grammatical errors that I found, I have no hesitation in highly recommending this to all fans of Young Adult, Contemporary, and Romance.

* 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!
Apr 23, 2016
  
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Merissa (11646 KP) rated Wish (Indigo Dreams #1) in Books

Dec 17, 2018 (Updated Jun 7, 2023)  
Wish (Indigo Dreams #1)
Wish (Indigo Dreams #1)
Grier Cooper | 2014 | Contemporary, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the story of Indigo, a sixteen-year-old girl who dreams of being a ballet dancer. Having taken ballet lessons for years, she understands that it isn't something that will just happen without a lot of hard work. However, she is struggling at the present due to family circumstances. Wish tells her story, about the circumstances and decisions made that set her on the path to her future.

This was very well-written with characters that were believable and fully dimensional. The storyline was well-paced and continued to hold my interest throughout. The romance between Jesse and Indigo actually takes a back seat in the story behind the ballet which makes a nice change in a Young Adult book. You never know which way things will go until you get there. This is not just some "everything is peachy" fluffy book, it is a book that deals with a serious subject, alcoholism, in a very realistic way and shows how it impacts not only the drinker but friends and family too.

This is a very different book that is well worth the time it takes to read. I would like to read more about Indigo and her dreams. Definitely recommended.

* 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!
Jan 12, 2015
  
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ArecRain (8 KP) rated Goddess of Yesterday in Books

Jan 18, 2018  
GO
Goddess of Yesterday
Caroline B. Cooney | 2002
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
First off, I should say that I absolutely love Greek mythology. I do not consider myself sufficiently schooled in the subject, but it is a passion of mine. I do not, however, like reading about the Trojan War. Therefore, I was a bit iffy when I request this book from book swap on goodreads.com . After reading it, I was pleased that the novel barely touched on the war.

There are so many thing that I love about this book that I don’t know if I can even fit it all into one review. I normally do not like narratives, but I think this novel wouldn’t have been the same if it hadn’t been. When it first starts, the main character, Anaxandra, is only 5 years old and , thus, narrates through the eyes of a five year old (who knows how to express herself very well…). As the story progresses and Anaxandra grows older, the way she thinks and talks also evolves. You almost feel as if you grow with her, learning the things that she does and experiencing what she does with such clarity.

From page one, the plot unfolds, another thing I adore about any book. There is no excessive detail or long drawn out explanations of anything. Cooney wastes no time with excessive writing when she can sufficiently say it in a few sentences. Something I thought was very realistic considering the narrator. It almost reads like a stream on consciousness. It isn’t staccato and rough like Hemingway’s writing, reading smoothing while still sounding like what is going through a young girl's mind during the time.

The plot actually wasn’t too complicated. A young girl is given to a king as a companion for his daughter. Their village is sacked when she is older and she lies to Menalaus to save herself and thus becomes a companion for his young daughter. Helen meets Paris, and the rest is history. It sounds simple enough, but every page had something on it that progressed the storyline. It seemed that something was always happening.

Cooney's Helen of Troy had me clutching my book firmly in my claws, trying not to through it across the room in rage. I always picture Helen of Troy as a narcisstic woman who should have been put in her place. Cooney portrayed just that: a woman so caught in her own supposed birthright, beauty, and self bestowed power that, at time, Helen acted as if she was a goddess herself. She had accepted her life but was bored with it. It wasn't until someone as equally gorgeous and captivating as her came along, Paris, did she gain the courage to finally defy her husband.

I equally agreed with Cooney's portrayal of Paris. The young prince, who was also known to be quite the stud of his time, just bragged about his conquests and skills, of which, in truth, he had none.

What is not to love about two people wrapped up in themselves actually falling in love with each other? I wondered if they were only in love with the idea of them having a mate that compared to their unsurpassable looks.

All in all, there were far to many things in this novel that made me place it back on my shelf instead of donating it once I had finished. It lacks a certain maturity that I had grown use to from the other novels I have been reading as of late, but considering it is a young adult novel, I think Cooney can be forgiven for such a triviality.

If you like fiction about ancient Greece and Greek Mythology, I whole-heartedly recommend this little gem.