Review: Clockwork Angel

Author: Cassandra Clare
Publish date: 2010
Source: Purchased
"When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos. 

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own. 

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all."

My first reaction after finishing this book was: WOW! I am really impressed and surprised. This was my first venture into Cassandra Clare, who has also written the Mortal Instruments series and now this series, the Infernal Devices. I found the book for crazy cheap at a Border's closing sale, so I picked it up, thinking my students would like it. After a few mentioned how much they LOVED it, and seeing love for Cassandra Clare around the internetz, I decided to give it a shot. Glad I did!

I got about 50 pages in before I put Clockwork Angel down to a read a few other books that I decided were more pressing and finally picked this one back up over the weekend. The plot really picked up and became quite unputdownable. I found the whole premise of the story to be really interesting, plus I love the time period it is set in. It's kind of a mish-mash of historical fiction, paranormal, steampunk, and sci-fi. Sounds weird, but it all worked.

One of my favorite parts of the novel was the characterization. There were definitely a lot of characters, but I feel like I got to know all of them throughout the story. I liked that the narration was third person, but didn't focus entirely on Tessa. Great way to learn more about characters and their motivations. 

I loved all the plot twists and am eagerly anticipating reading Clockwork Prince, which coincidentally just came out last week. I'm glad I took the plunge and read something that I normally would not have!

TGIF: Book to Movie

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReads! This week's question is:


Book to movie: Which is the best adaptation of book to movie? The worst?


Excellent question! I think one of the best was The Notebook. I actually liked the movie more than the book! I also loved how the Harry Potter movies turned out. I know there were parts left out, but a good job nonetheless.


The worst? The Scarlet Letter with Demi Moore was awful. I remember catching it on TV after reading the novel in high school and realizing what a terrible adaptation it was. I was also not a fan of The Time-Traveler's Wife movie, but loved the book. Also, not a movie, but let's not even mention the Little House on the Prairie TV series. Awful. Books were waaaaay better!


Reviews this week:
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (loved it!)
Hitch by Jeanette Ingold (great historical fiction from male POV)
Looking for Alaska by John Green (excellent)

Review: Looking for Alaska

Author: John Green
Publish date: 2005
Source: Library
"Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps. 

Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A stunning debut, it marks John Green's arrival as an important new voice in contemporary fiction."

I read Paper Towns over the summer and immediately decided that I needed to read the rest of John Green's novels. I'm not sure why it took me so long to read this one, but I'll definitely be getting to An Abundance of Katherines much sooner. I really enjoyed Looking for Alaska and can't believe I hadn't read it sooner.

John Green gets teenagers. I don't know how else to say it. He writes amazing, real characters that I can only wish were actual people. I loved all the characters in this one: Pudge/Miles, the Colonel/Chip, Alaska, Takumi, even the Eagle. They all had their own lovable quirks and just meshed to make the story work. I loved all the characters in Paper Towns too, so I'm thinking John Green is pretty damn good at this thing. I love that he writes from a male's perspective, which is sorely lacking in YA literature.

I thought the setting of a boarding school was one of the best things about this book. Pudge got to meet new friends, plus there is the added bonus of limited parental involvement, although his parents were in the story. The boarding school setting really helped set up the major theme of the story: the impact that people have on your life, no matter when you meet them or how long you know them. 

I'm looking forward to reading An Abundance of Katherines soon! 

Top Ten Tuesday 12/6

Top Ten Tuesday is one of my favorite book blog memes! It is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is: 


Top Ten Childhood Faves! For purposes of this list, childhood will be considered elementary school and early middle school.


1. Little House on the Prairie: I can't even describe the love I felt for this books (I tried to document it here when I reviewed The Wilder Life). I adored and was obsessed with the series, the people, everything. I wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder.


2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: My stepdad read this aloud to use when I was in early elementary school and I ate it up (har har)! Love Roald Dahl.


3. Matilda: Read this one on my own after Charlie and decided that I needed to be Matilda. I already loved books; all I needed was super powers!


4. Baby-sitters Club: I basically devoured all of these starting in second grade. My mom refused to buy them because I would read them so fast, so periodically, we'd just go to Barnes and Noble for a couple hours so I could read some. I loved those trips.


5. Bunnicula: My stepdad also read this one to us, which I loved. I think I read the sequels on my own.


6. Berenstein Bears: I loved the picture books when I was small, then moved on to the short chapter books. Loved that family.


7. Sweet Valley Twins: Loved all varieties of these series.


8.The Giver: I read it in 4th grade and really enjoyed it. 


9. Tuck Everlasting: Read this in school for 5th grade and fell in love. Movie wasn't bad either.


10. HARRY POTTER: Not sure if this would be childhood, since I started reading them in middle school, but they for sure are my favorite books of all time. I can't even express my love for them. When I finished Deathly Hallows, it was like something in my heart had come to an end. Bittersweet happiness.

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publish date: September 2011
Source: Library
"Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong." (image and blurb from Goodreads)

I heard a lot of buzz about this book, so I was a bit wary going into it. I knew I would like it, but I didn't want my expectations to be too high because of all the positive reviews I'd read. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer definitely did not disappoint me and I get the feeling this review is going to be a little gushy.

First of all, I loved all the characters. I liked Mara and I enjoyed that the story was told from her point of view. Her family members were all likable, even her mom, who was quite a mom at some points. Mara's friends were great too, especially Jamie. I wanted more of him! And Noah. Noah Noah Noah. At first I thought he was going to be too cliche, but he turned out to be much more interesting and pivotal than I had imagined.

This book was definitely unputdownable. The chapters were pretty short, which was awesome, and while it wasn't all action-packed, I still wanted to keep reading to find out what happened to Mara. With the first person narration, the reader knows as much as Mara does, so we discover things about her as she does. I liked this technique. Also, the ending? HOLY WOW. I need book number 2 now!

This book isn't for everyone, but if you are a YA fan and don't mind cliches that become uncliche with a hell of an ending, give Mara Dyer a shot!

Review: If I Stay

Author: Gayle Forman
Publish date: 2009
Source: Library
"In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen year- old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make -and the ultimate choice Mia commands." (blurb and image from Goodreads)

I've heard a bit about this book online and from a few students at school, so I decided to give it a shot. I knew that a sequel had come out this year, but that's about it. I started and finished the novel last night, so it's a quick but sad read.

This book is sad! You essentially gather that from the inside cover blurb, but I was still surprised at how gently sad it was. Most of the story is told in flashbacks, taking us back to memories of Mia with her family, friend Kim, and boyfriend Adam. The flashbacks were essential in learning more about Mia, but it was sad to remember that they were only flashbacks.

The book was really short compared to what I've been reading lately, less that 200 pages. It was pretty unputdownable, as I wanted to find what Mia was going to decide, but it wasn't as excellent as I had hoped it would be. I wasn't a huge fan of Adam, for some reason, so I'm not sure if I will read Where She Went, which was published in April of this year. Thoughts?

TGIF: Writing Reviews 101

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReads! Every Friday, she proposes a fun and interesting question. This week's question is:

Writing Reviews 101: What is your process for writing reviews? Any tips or suggestions you would recommend to other bloggers?

I try to write reviews the day I finish or the next, so everything is still fresh in my mind. I think I have a fairly standard/boring method for writing them. I like to include a synopsis of the book (usually taken from Goodreads), why I wanted to read it/how I heard about it/how I acquired it, what I liked about it, and in some cases, what I didn't like about it. Sometimes I also include who I would recommend it to, since some books have very specific audiences.

This question is pretty timely, actually, since I just finished If I Stay by Gayle Forman last night but haven't written a review yet. Look for one later!