Delirium TV Show Castings!

For those of you that don't know, Lauren Oliver's Delirium Series is being turned into a TV series by Fox. Delirium is one of my favorites books ever, and so I just found out on one of the writing websites I'm part of that Fox has cast the two main characters: Lena and Alex, Lena's love interest, along with the main character come Pandemonium, Julian. 

According to my sources, Emma Roberts is playing Lena.

I'm not overly impressed. I don't know, maybe she can pull it off.... I'm skeptical though. Her face seems too... wide for Lena. She also doesn't really just look like Lena to me. We'll have to see.

Daren Kagasoff is playing Alex.

He, on the other hand, looks almost exactly how I imagined Alex. His facial structure is just perfect for the part!

Julian is to be played by Gregg Sulkin.

He is probably my least favorite casting. I'm just really not liking this casting. Just... ugh. Sometimes I wonder what they're thinking when they cast these things...

So, my favorite to least-favorites:

1. Daren Kagasoff as Alex.
2. Emma Roberts as Lena.
3. Gregg Sulkin as Julian.

So, those are my thoughts. I'd love to hear your opinions below!

Here's the link to where I got the info. The links in the actors' names go to IMDb.

Anastasia

Book Review: Altered, by Jennifer Rush

Title: Altered
Series/Sequel? Altered #1
Author: Jennifer Rush
Genre(s): Science Fiction, Action/Adventure
Age Level: YA
Page Count: 323 (Hardcover)
Perspective: First Person (Female)
Summary: Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

Review: Everything about this book - from the cover to the summary - led me to think this wasn't going to be anything special; just another typical science fiction-romance book. So imagine my surprise when it turned out to be so much better than that.

For one, this book is extremely fast and extremely addicting. It kept me reading hours past my bedtime, until my dad came in and turned out the light on me.

Altered was also extremely uncliche. The plot twists and surprises, which I typically guess correctly on within the first 50 pages were actual plot twists that actually surprised me. Maybe that was because my brain was half asleep due to how late I was reading it, but then again, maybe not. This book was more interesting than I ever would have thought, and I'm extremely excited for the second book.

The one thing that I disliked about this book was the romance. The romance was predictable and cliche, and I didn't feel their relationship at all. I found myself wanting to skip past the romantic parts to the much more interesting fight scenes and such - which there were a good amount of, by the way. Anna and the boys can't seem to stay out of trouble no matter where they are, and the fight scenes were awesome, even without the swords, daggers, and magical abilities I typically prefer. But, anyway, (I love this book so much, I'm going off on a tangent!) the romance was the worst part of the book, and I'm kind of cringing imagining this author trying to hype up Sam's and Anna's relationship in the next book.

Besides that little hiccup, this is a great action/adventure and scifi book I would recommend to just about any YA reader!

Rating:

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

Release Date:  March 5th, 2013

Title: Requiem
Series/Sequel? Delirium #3
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre(s): Dystopian, Romance, SciFi
Summary: They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

My thoughts: Delirium, the first book, is one of my favorite books ever. It is a beautiful and amazing book, one that has changed my way forever. Its sequel, Pandemonium, is one of my least favorite books ever. In my opinion, it took the beauty and uniqueness of Delirium and stamped it all to pieces, replacing it with awful predictability and cliche-ness.  So, I'm interested in reading Requiem to see if it can possible redeem the disaster wrought by Pandemonium, and if Lauren Oliver can possibly dig herself out of the hole she's dug herself into.

Book Haul (3)

I went to Barnes and Noble the week, then realized that buying the books I wanted was cheaper. After seeing all the new releases that I wanted but couldn't have, I went to a library which turned out to have just about all of them. So now I have a total of fourteen books to read in the next three weeks. Because of how many books I got, I'm going to split them up in three different sections.

Dystopians: 

Ashes, by Ilsa J. Bick (Ashes #1): I've heard this book was really good. I picked it up and checked it out. Let's see what comes out of it.

Elemental, by Antony John: Tied with the fey, elementals are my favorite type of paranormal creature. I'm interested to see how this book portrays them. 

Insignia, by S. J. Kincaid: This book was recommended to me by a friend, and so I decided to pick it up and give it a go.

Through the Ever Night, by Veronica Rossi (Under the Never Sky #2): The sequel to Under the Never Sky, a dystopian I liked well enough, but didn't love. I'm interested to see if this can redeem the first book.

False Memory, by Dan Krokos (False Memory #1): This author is coming to the biggest (really only) bookish event near where I live, and so I'm trying to read as many books by the twenty-or-so authors coming as possible.

The Darkest Minds, by Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds #1): She is also coming to the same event as Dan Krokos, and her novel Brightly Woven is one of my favorites.

Others:

Altered, by Jennifer Rush (Altered #1): Truthfully, I saw the cover and I had to pick. This looks to be a scifi book with four hot guys. Is there anything better?

Catherine, by April Linder: I loved her book Jane, which is a rewrite of Jane Eyre. This time she rewrote Wuthering Heights, and though I've never read the classic, I'm excited to read more of her lovely writing!

Vortex, by Julie Cross (Tempest #2): The first book, Tempest, wasn't very good, but it was decent enough that I'm interested in seeing if the sequel is better.

Nobody, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: This should actually be with the other dystopians, but I didn't realize until after I made the collages that this was a dystopian and not just SciFi. I loved Every Other Day by her, and so I'm excited to read this standalone.

Level 2, by Lenore Appelhans (The Memory Chronicles #1): This is one of those afterlife/heaven books, and though I didn't think one could be written better than The Catastrophic History of You and Me, I'm still willing to give it a go.

Everbound, by Brodi Ashton (Everneath #2): The didn't think Everneath was very good, but like Vortex and Through the Ever Night, I'm still interested enough in the story to see how it turns out, and also if it can redeem the first.

Splintered, by A. G. Howard: The somewhat-creepy cover caught my attention, and though I didn't think we could have another rewrite of Alice in Wonderland, it seems that I was wrong.

And then the one book I have to keep this week is the one I was given for my book group:

The Hunt, by Andrew Fukuda (The Hunt #1): Everything I've heard says this Hunger-Games-with-Vampires is amazing, and so I'm greatly excited to see how it is for myself.

Whew! Well, that's it. Leave your comments, opinions, and links to your Book Haul down there, and I'll check them out!

Anastasia

Book Review: The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary E. Pearson

Title: The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Series/Sequel? The Jenna Fox Chronicles #1
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Genre(s): Dystopian, SciFi, Hard Topics
Age Level: 10 and up
Page Count: 265 (Paperback)
Perspective: 1st Person (Female)
 Summary: Everything is different

Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox has just awoken from a year-long coma - so she's been told - and she is still recovering from the terrible accident that caused it. But what happened before that? She's been given home movies chronicling her entire life, which spark memories to surface. But are the memories really hers? And why won't anyone in her family talk about the accident? Jenna is becoming more curious. But she is also afraid of what she might find out if she ever gets up the courage to ask her questions.

What happened to Jenna Fox? And who is she really?

Review: I heard this book was amazing. Every review I read, every person I talked to who had read it, said it was amazing. So maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe it just wasn't my type of book, but I was disappointed.

One of the main reasons I think I didn't like it that much was because of the characters. I didn't connect with them. I felt like I didn't connect with anything in this book. I felt removed and separate from the story and the characters the entire time I was reading it. And that was a majorly hurt my level of enjoyment as I read this book.

I also thought, based on what everyone else said and reviewed, that the writing of this book was going to be great. And the writing of this book was good enough I guess. The way it was written definitely fit the story itself But it wasn't riveting, and I've read books that were much more interesting and suspenseful.

And it wasn't that this book wasn't interesting. The premise was unique and interesting and I loved that about. And it wasn't that this book wasn't suspenseful. There was a ton of suspense in this book. But once again, I didn't feel the expense and the urgency of the characters and the story because I wasn't connected.

So, yes, I'm extremely disappointed. I felt like this was a great book if only I could - to use the word one last time - connect. But despite all that, I would still recommend this book. I think many others will enjoy it, or at least find it an interesting book to think about.

Rating:

Book Review: Crewel, by Gennifer Albin

Title: Crewel
Series/Sequel? Crewel World #1
Author: Gennifer Albin
Genre(s): Dystopian
Age Level: YA
Page Count: 357 (Hardcover)
Perspective: 1st Person (Female)

Summary: Enter a tangled world of secrets and intrigue where a girl is in charge of others destinies, but not her own.

Sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has always been special. When her parents discover her gift—the ability to weave the very fabric of reality—they train her to hide it. For good reason, they don’t want her to become a Spinster — one of the elite, beautiful, and deadly women who determine what people eat, where they live, how many children they have, and even when they die.

Thrust into the opulent Western Coventry, Adelice will be tried, tested and tempted as she navigates the deadly politics at play behind its walls.  Now caught in a web of lies and forbidden romance, she must unravel the sinister truth behind her own unspeakable power.  Her world is hanging by a thread, and Adelice, alone, can decide to save it — or destroy it.

Review: I picked up this book for two reasons: the cover looked cool, and the author was coming to talk and sign in my town in a few months.

... I still don't really have any other reasons for reading it.

For one, this book had an extremely slow "start". And by "start", I mean the first half of this book. I was indifferent and disinterested until about page 140 out of 357 pages, and then things (finally!) began picking up. I'm not sure why that was, exactly. There was action, and there were things happening that should have been interesting, but they just... weren't. It took 140 pages for this book to actually start.

This book was also fairly predictable. All the "big reveals" and "twists" and such, I caught almost immediately, at the barest amount of foreshadowing. Maybe I've read too many YA books, but the amount of predictability and cliche used in this book was just awful.

Now, I don't want to say that this book was totally awful, either. Skimming the reviews on here, I'm seeing a lot of "creative"s and "unique"s. And I don't disagree with that. This was a very unique and creative world, with the world being made of a weave. Of course, it wasn't the first time I've seen weaving being such an integral part of the story, and related to life and reality and the world. So it was creative... to an extent.

The one other thing I actually liked with this story was the prose. The writing itself was actually really good, and I found six quotes in this book that I really liked (The average per book for me is about 3 or four.) The way she strung words together was great.

So, that's my personal opinion. But I think this is the type of book that (judging from the amount of fours and fives I see here) it really depends on the reader. Try reading it for the writing, and the world.

Rating:

Quotes:

"It's how I imagine death will come to me: overdressed and smoking."

- Page 106
___________________________________________________________________________________

"He was a husband, a father, and I'm nothing and never will be. I guess the Guild assigned us our roles after all."

 - Page 219
___________________________________________________________________________________ 

"The rest of the world is perfectly still, but we are in motion, crumbling into one another."

- Page 235
___________________________________________________________________________________ 

"Remembrance is never useless."

- Page 294
___________________________________________________________________________________ 

"'Adelice, you have the power to stop this.' she reminds me.
'I know,' I murmur. 'I just can't think of a good reason to.'"

- Page 349

Book Review: This Dark Endeavor, by Kenneth Oppel

Title: This Dark Endeavor
Series/Sequel? The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein #1
Author: Kenneth Oppel
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Romance
Age Level: YA
Page Count: 304
Perspective: First Person (Male)

Summary from Goodreads: Victor Frankenstein leads a charmed life. He and his twin brother, Konrad, and their beautiful cousin Elizabeth take lessons at home and spend their spare time fencing and horseback riding. Along with their friend Henry, they have explored all the hidden passageways and secret rooms of the palatial Frankenstein chateau. Except one.

The Dark Library contains ancient tomes written in strange languages and filled with forbidden knowledge. Their father makes them promise never to visit the library, but when Konrad becomes deathly ill, Victor knows he must find the book that contains the recipe for the legendary Elixir of Life.

The elixir needs only three ingredients. But impossible odds, dangerous alchemy and a bitter love triangle threaten their quest at every turn.

Victor knows he must not fail. Yet his success depends on how far he is willing to push the boundaries of nature, science and love—and how much he is willing to sacrifice.

Review: I've never read Frankenstein. I mean, I know the basic story; everyone does. But I just thought I'd tell you that I have never read Mary Shelley's classic, so I may not understand all the allusions to the original.

I didn't think I would enjoy this book very much. I only read it because the cover looked simply amazing and there were a couple of really cool quotes in the summary and on the back cover.

How wrong I was.

I loved the characters in this. Victor was a very interesting character, a personification of the animalistic characteristics of human nature: passion, violence, instinct, pride. On the other end of things, his twin Konrad seemed to be a personification of the qualities that make humans human: intelligence, charm. And then Elizabeth seemed to be caught in the middle, a mix between the human and animal natures, between Konrad and Victor. I also loved how independent and strong Elizabeth was, so unusual for a woman of that time period. (During the French Revolution.) All the other characters were well developed also, but those three, as the three main characters, really stood out to me.

I loved reading about the alchemy involved in this, and how the alchemy (and science) was influenced by the time period, and vice versa. I've never really been able to find any (good) books about alchemy, and it was really well explained and interesting to read about in this book.

This book was really well-written, there was no turn of phrase that needed editing. I greatly respect Mr. Oppel!

I greatly recommend this book to fans of alchemy, Frankenstein, male protagonists, and/or historical fiction!

Rating:

Book Review: Forgotten, by Cat Patrick

Title: Forgotten
Series/Sequel? No
Author: Cat Patrick
Genre(s): Scifi/Paranormal Romance
Age Level: YA
Page Count: 304 (Hardcover)
Perspective: 1st person, female
Summary from Goodreads: Each night at precisely 4:33 am, while sixteen-year-old London Lane is asleep, her memory of that day is erased. In the morning, all she can "remember" are events from her future. London is used to relying on reminder notes and a trusted friend to get through the day, but things get complicated when a new boy at school enters the picture. Luke Henry is not someone you'd easily forget, yet try as she might, London can't find him in her memories of things to come.

When London starts experiencing disturbing flashbacks, or flash-forwards, as the case may be, she realizes it's time to learn about the past she keeps forgetting—before it destroys her future. 

Review: This was an incredibly unique book. There seem to be so much of the same out there, so many authors with the same basic plot and cliched plot twists, but Cat Patrick was great at not falling into any of those cliche traps. The premise of this book was unique; I have never read anything like this. Yes, there was some romance, but it wasn't the cliched love triangle. London, the main character, had a boyfriend who she stuck with throughout the entire book, with no additional boy-drama - at least not any boy drama of her own.

However, I thought London could sometimes be a little snobby and annoying with her ability to see into the future. It caused waves with both her boyfriend (who, by the end of it, I was falling in love with as well) and with her best friend.

I also thought this book ended kind of abruptly, with no real conclusion. I mean, since she could see the future, she could see what was going to happen, and how it was all going to turn out okay and everything. But there really was no solid conclusion, and that annoyed me.
All in all, an amazing addition to the book world! I greatly recommend it!

Rating:

Book Review: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Title: I Am Number Four
Series/Sequel? The first of the Lorien Legacies series, followed by The Power of Six
Author: Pittacus Lore
Genre: Science Fiction (Scifi)
Age Level: YA
Page Count: 440 (Paperback)

Summary from back of book: 


NINE of us came here. 


WE look like you. 


WE talk like you. 


WE live among you - but


WE are not you. 


WE have powers you dream of having. 


WE are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books -


BUT we are real. 


THEY caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. 

THEY killed them all. 

I AM NUMBER FOUR. I AM NEXT. 

Review: I've never really been interested in aliens. I was not into green things with antenna and super-large eyes. But this wasn't like that at all. And it was ah-mazing.


This book was awesome. I loved reading about the Legacies and stories his guardian Henri (also an alien) would tell Four about Lorien (their home planet). I loved learning about all alien aspects of this - something, with my dislike of aliens, I hadn't expected I would.

I've found that I really enjoy reading from male characters' POV's, and this book was no exception. Number Four (I'll just call him Four from now on) was a character that I loved. He had the fate of an entire planet and species resting on his back, and he still manages to be compassionate and selfless and heroic. He also manages to have a social life. I want to meet him!

This book was incredibly fast-paced. The action never stopped. There was always something going on. There was never a lull in the action, and I had trouble putting it down, because of how quickly things went. It didn't feel rushed or an overloading of information, though. Everything just transferred so smoothly from one part to another, you didn't notice that you had already read through 100 pages and it was WAY past your bed time.

I loved all the secondary characters as well - Henri, Sarah, Sam, Six, even Mark and Bernie Kosar. They were all so vibrant and strong and had their own personalities and interests. I've found that sometimes in books, secondary characters pale greatly to the main character. Not in this story. Each character was strong and unique, and I loved it.

If you liked the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, I would suggest this book for you. You won't regret it!

Rating:

Book Review: Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

Title: Bones of Faerie
Series/Sequel? First of the series, followed by Faerie Winter
Author: Janni Lee Simner
Genres: Scifi/Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic, Paranormal
Age Level: YA (12-18)
Page Count: 256 (Paperback)

Summary from Goodreads: The war between humanity and Faerie devastated both sides. Or so 15-year-old Liza has been told. Nothing has been seen or heard from Faerie since, and Liza’s world bears the scars of its encounter with magic. Trees move with sinister intention, and the town Liza calls home is surrounded by a forest that threatens to harm all those who wander into it. Then Liza discovers she has the Faerie ability to see—into the past, into the future—and she has no choice but to flee her town. Liza’s quest will take her into Faerie and back again, and what she finds along the way may be the key to healing both worlds.

Review:The plot of this book was very interesting. I've never even thought of something like this - a mix of dystopian/post-apocalyptic and faery/paranormal. It was an incredibly unique plot line and approach to faeries and faery magic. However, everything else left a little to be desired.

It was written in first person, but it read more as third person - detached and not as emotional or easy-to-be-interested-in-the-characters. So, I was less than impressed with the actual characters. They were fairly two-dimensional.

I also found some problems with the actual writing. There were a lot of times when I didn't know what had just happened, when I thought something happened that actually didnt, or where the characters made strange jumps that I didn't understand.

So, if you can deal with not very clear writing and want a very unique plot line, I would suggest it. However if you're more like me and need very 3-D characters, I wouldn't suggest it for you, because it will be a waste of your time.

Rating: 

 

Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder
Series? The first in the Lunar Chronicles, followed by Scarlet, coming out next year.
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: Scifi, Romance, Dystopian
Age Level: YA (12-18) 
Summary: Cinder is the most renowned mechanic in New Beijing. Of course, it helps that she's a cyborg. But when Prince Kai, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Commonwealth, comes to her booth in disguise, needing her to fix a royal android, she knows something is up, even if he just jokingly says it's a matter of "national security".
The Emperor, and many people on Earth, have been struck with leutomosis, a deadly disease. It was brought to Earth by the Lunars, people from what started out as a simple moon colony and have grown to be dangerous, magical, and feared. But Cinder may hold the cure to the disease in her blood - in fact, she may hold more than the cure.

Review: This book is a Cinderella retelling, but not in the way you could imagine. I've heard a lot about this book and wanted to read it, and was so glad when I found it waiting for me at my library.

Cinder is new and fresh, and I loved the way she responded to everything - from the disease to Prince Kai. Even though she may no longer be human, she acts like she is, with the same feelings we have. She also has to deal with prejudice and discrimination, and she tries desperately to keep Prince Kai from finding out - especially since he's shown an interest in her.

Queen Levana and the Lunars are a little frightening and unearthly, and I love them for it. Everything about them had me biting my nails, and leaning forward in my seat. It was pretty awesome.

Prince Kai as a character was pretty awesome as well. He was joking and sarcastic, and not like what you would expect him to be in his position. That being said, he did have a little bit of teenage guy in him - worried about marriage and pretty girls and kissing. But it was for what I believe is a nobler reason - for his country, the Eastern Commonwealth.

This book was written in third person, and while I normally don't like books as much when they're written in third person, this book made third person as personal as first. It was awesome!

The one thing I don't like about this book: I won't do spoilers, but there was this one thing that was supposed to be a total surprise and gasp-worthy, but I totally saw it coming. Maybe I've just read to many books, but it was totally predictable.

Even so, this was an awesome book and an awesome start to the series. I can't wait for next year and the sequel, Scarlet!

Rating: 

 

Book Review: The Future of Us

Title: The Future of Us
Sequel? No
Author: Carolyn Mackler and Jay Asher
Genres: Realistic Fiction, Romance, science fiction (of the time travel persuasion)
Age Level: YA (13-18) 
Summary: "... I got this desktop computer with Windows 95 and a color monitor... Our friend Kellan recently got AOL. She squeals every time someone sends her an instant message." - The Future of Us, pages 2 and 4
It's the year 1996. It's a sight to behold if you have a computer or cellphone. Or, even more unusual, both. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, all the technology we take for granted today hasn't been invented yet. So what happens when eleventh grader Emma Nelson logs onto AOL and discovers Facebook, with pages from her, her friends, her family - but fifteen years in the future. She shares this phenomenon with her ex-best friend and current neighbor Josh, in an attempt to figure out how it is possible. Seeing their futures, and seeing how miserable Emma is, she tries her best to change it, to make little ripples in the present and then refreshing the page to see how her future changes. But is that really what she should be doing? Should two high schoolers intentionally mess with the present to change to future?

Rating:

Gah!

Review: Talk about a dynamic duo if I ever saw one. Carolyn Mackler and Jay Asher are both fantastic writers on their own, but this co-authored novel shows just how wonderful they are. It has a deep, philosophical, underlying theme, wrapped in  typical high school drama. It makes you question - if you had the chance to change your future, would you? How much of our own choices affect our futures? How much is left up to destiny and fate? Should we just say que sera sera and leave it be? A powerful book, which I would recommend to everyone, adults and teenagers alike.

Book Review: The Way We Fall

Title: The Way We Fall
Sequel? Unknown
Author: Megan Crewe
Genres: Realistic Fiction, Disease, Romance
Age Level: YA (12-18)
Summary: "It starts with an itch you just can't shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you'll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they're old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in. And then you're dead." - The Way We Fall
Kaelyn is back on the island, after being moved out to Toronto, where she did not fit in. The thing is, she doesn't really fit in in her hometown either. Not since she came back. Not since she had a fight with her best friends Leo, whose gone as well. 
But her microbiologist father had to come back to work at the research center on the island, and so Kaelyn, her brother Drew, and her mom had to come back with him. And even though Kaelyn doesn't fit in at school, she's doing all right coping. That is, until the virus strikes, wiping out almost everyone. The government quarantines them to the island: no one can leave, but no one can come back either. 
How can you survive living constant fear that the person that seemed friendly enough yesterday, talking to you, may be dead in a few more days, leaving you to follow in their footsteps? How can you live with no one you love left? 
Rating: 

Rude Awakening

Review: Let me tell you, this book scared the heck outta me. I was reading it at night, before I went to bed. I closed  it, turned off my light and tried to fall asleep. The problem was, I had an itch. An itch that, no matter how hard I scratched it, would not go away. It took me ten minutes just to convince myself: "Ana, that is a book. It is not real. You are not going to catch some creepy virus. It is NOT real." ... except, even now, I'm not to sure. Because I'm still feeling kinda itchy. Needless to say, if you get scared easily, do not read it. Because, like the virus itself, this book creeps into the very edges of your brain, making you think of the very things you'd rather forget. That being said, it is still a very interesting read. If you don't mind hard topics, then I would recommend it to you.

Book Review: Ashes, Ashes

Title: Ashes, Ashes
Sequel? Unknown
Author: Jo Treggiari
Genres: scifi, post-apocalyptic, dystopian
Age Level: YA (12-18)
Summary: Warning: this book is not for the faint of heart. Or anyone with a weak stomach. 
 The apocalypse started exactly how scientists said it would:tsunamis, earthquakes, flash floods, droughts. But then, even after all that, the plague came. The plague that wiped out almost everyone - except the very young, and the very old. Everyone with it died - that is, except the S'ans, but they went insane, with blackened skin and red eyes.
Sixteen-year-old Lucy is one of the few left. Living alone in the Wilds that used to be Central Park, she dos what she needs to survive.
But when  her home is destroyed, she is saved by a peer, and fellow survivor, Aidan, who brings her  to a survivor camp with food and water.
But her problems aren't over yet. Because the camp isn't safe. The Sweepers, those that took away the infected in the days the plague ran rampant, are coming back for survivors, infecting them with the plague to try and fins a cure. A cure that Lucy may carry in her very blood.
Rating: 

Rude Awakening

Review: The stuff in red pretty much says it all. This book is a fast-paced, nail-biting adventure, and the action never stops. It will leave you lying awake at night, trying to figure out what happens next. And even once you finish, the thoughts and events of this book don't really leave you. Highly recommended to fans of The Hunger Games series.