A Lot Can Happen In A Month [Nov 2012]

So it's official! Me and Sarah have been book blogging for one whole month now! To celebrate this, I've created a new monthly post (you can call it a meme, I guess) to recap everything we've done so far. In the future, this post will come at the last day of every month, restating what happened over the course of that month.

And if you're a regular at our blog, take a look of what posts you missed but would be interested in! If you're new to our blog, feel free to stalk around and click on these colorful links.

Now, let's start this recap!

Book Reviews:

1. Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

This book takes the word "romance" differently than most YA stories. In Something Strange and Deadly, Eleanor Fitt doesn't fall in love with Daniel right away. Daniel doesn't fall in love with Eleanor at first sight either. In fact, he was pretty annoyed when he met her, as he made assumptions about her being some rich snob. But as the Dead became more consistent, they had no choice but to see each other again. They had to work together, along with Jie and Joseph (fantastic characters, by the way) to stop the zombies.

2. Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Unraveling is a refreshing sci-fi book to read. It's hard to find this type of genre in the YA world, so you could literally see me jumping up and down when I read quantum physics there. Thankfully, Elizabeth Norris has written this in a way so non-quantum physics people would understand this too. YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK NOW! It's so wonderful and amazing; not to mention, very unique. (Quote taken from Unraveling book review on Umbrella Dreams. Click here to read the full review)

3. The Forsaken by Lisa M Stasse

When I first read the summary, I expected something like Uglies by Scott Westerfield.  A girl who ends up in the wild, looking to find her true self. But as I read the beginning, I discover it's a lot like Divergent by Veronica Roth. There's a test..involving a serum...taken when you were in the 16 year old range..supported by the government. But that's where the similarities with Divergent ends. After that, Alenna gets into The Wheel and I find similarities with The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The Blue Sector, where Alenna's tribe is, is set into a forest-like place, which I imagine is like The Hunger Games's setting. There is also fighting and death, likewise in The Hunger Games. But then, more of the story passes, and I find out that The Forsaken is getting more unique...until the last few pages of it. There is an explanation of what happened to the start of The Wheel and why it's there. And I won't spoil it, but then it became Divergent by Veronica Roth and I found myself cringing at how the reason of the Wheel is similar to Divergent. (Quote taken from The Forsaken book review on Umbrella Dreams. Click here to read the full review)

4. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

The perspective is in 2 points of views: Emma and Galen. Emma is in first person while Galen is in third and I feel like that really wasn't necessary. That part bothered me quite a bit, but its not enough to make me write a RANT about it. The plot however was actually a pretty good one though I feel like the storytelling of it could have been better. The idea of mermaids and the origin of gifts was a fantastic idea to write a book about but to be honest, the author could have wrote it better. And if any new author writes the same story, no matter how good the storytelling is, it would be considered cliche. I'm a bit disappointed in the perspective and storytelling but the main idea of the story was pretty good. (Quote taken from the Of Poseidon book review on Umbrella Dreams. Click here to read the full review.

5. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

This is a pretty good book. It's entertaining and you will probably like it. The only thing was:  this book wasn't really my style and it kind of deceives you in the summary. There wasn't enough action. I also thought it dragged a little bit. But overall, it is still a decent book. If you're ever bored and looking for entertainment you might want to read it. (Quote taken from the Graceling book review on Umbrella Dreams. Click here to read the full review)

6. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is a great character with a funny sense of humor. The plot is excellent. The end doesn't end in a cliffhanger. This is a perfect book for people who love their adventure and action book. This is a mind-blowingly epic book, and I definitely recommend it. (Quote taken from The Lighning Thief book review on Umbrella Dreams. Click here to read the full review)

As usual, the blue titles are Sarah's reviews and the pinks are mine. Feel free to roam around those book reviews and plot what to read next!

Memes:

Memes are a big part of Umbrella Dreams. We want to thank Jill (Breaking Spine) for her awesome WoW memes and Kristi (The Story Siren) for her IMM posts.

Here are a collection of meme posts for you to enjoy:

11/13/12 -- In My Mailbox (1)

11/14/12 -- Waiting on Wednesday (1)

11/19/12 -- In My Mailbox (2)

11/22/12 -- Batch (1)

11/24/12 -- Random (1)

11/26/12 -- In My Mailbox (3)

11/28/12 -- Waiting on Wednesday(2)

To find out more about BATCH and RANDOM, please click on the individual links. For now, here's a short explanation:

BATCH is created by Sarah. The goal of BATCH is to let blog readers know about these four things: 

1. Book covers that we like
2. Beautiful book covers but horrible story
3. Not-so-beautiful book cover but beautiful story
4. Anything random that has to do with book covers

If you're a Being A Thursday Cover Hoard, then BATCH is for you.

If covers aren't your thing, check out RANDOM, Rhetorically Asked Not Discussed On Memes. That is a meme created to answer questions about the publishing industry/publishing company/YA books and etc.

For this month, BATCH is featuring Starcrossed. Click here to learn more about this book.

Also for this month, RANDOM is featuring the question: How much do authors make? Click here to learn more about this inquiry.

Rants:

Rants are usually written by Nicole. This month, she has written two rants for book bloggers to read. Check out below to get to those posts.

Rant #1: Love Triangles

Rant #2: Dystopian Cliches

I hope you enjoyed those rants.(:

Hall of Fame:

Hallf of Fame is a collection of amazing books Sarah and Nicole have read.

This month, one book has made it to the Hall of Fame! Congratulations to Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.

For a link to Sarah's 5 star review, click here.

Monthly Feature:

For this month, Nicole and Sarah want to feature this post. Nicole won't explain much of it on here, so click the button to find out the surprise!

Upcoming Book Reviews:

And now, lastly, Nicole want to share what books will soon be reviewed soon. To keep things fun, the review dates are still a mystery. However, if you catch a book you like, stay tuned for the review! It should be up shortly!

A Final Word...

Thank you so much for reading this post. Sarah and Nicole both can't believe it's been a month of book blogging already. So far, they are really enjoying this. Hopefully in the future, their blog will expand to be something even greater.

P.S

We have one very special Holiday post. They are very short and contain a thank you and a Happy Holiday. Here it is: Happy Thanksgiving!

REVIEW: Of Poseidon

Book: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Release Date: Published May 22nd 2012 by Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 336 pages
Source: The power of my awesome library

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen — literally, ouch! — both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . . 

Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

The Romance:

1     2  2.5   3     4     5

This scale is different than most. 1 means that there is no romance at all. 5 means this book was a very, very romantic based book. A 3 will be the most common, as YA books surround another plot while dealing with romance too. Below are my thoughts on the romance.

There wasn't that much romance, and I appreciated that. But it would be wrong to say that there isn't any. I guess there is some romance and drama, but its not a romance novel.

The Action/ The Adventure:

1     2     3     4     5

The action scale is pretty obvious and it is just like the romance scale. 1 means there was no action. 5 means there was a lot of action. Whether or not the action was good, I'll tell you below.

The action was pretty good. There wasn't that much to be honest and the adventure wasn't as adventurous as it could have been. It was an average action/adventure book.

The Speed:

1     2     3  3.5   4     5

The speed scale tells how fast the story goes. For example, if the introduction is boring and the whole book is going at snail pace, it'll probably be a ranking of 1.

The speed was surprisingly pretty fast. The beginning was a bit slow but later on in the book I found myself being tempted to read more and more. Its a pretty good book if your patient enough to wait a bit but I think its worth the wait.

 The Plot/ The Perspective/ The Storytelling:

1     2     3     4     5

This isn't based on how much action shows up as the book progresses. It is based on the quality of the plot. Sometimes the plot is just unentertaining while others are the on-the-end-of-your-seat suspenseful. This is probably the scale that you should pay the most attention to.

T
he perspective is in 2 points of views: Emma and Galen. Emma is in first person while Galen is in third and I feel like that really wasn't necessary. That part bothered me quite a bit, but its not enough to make me write a RANT about it. The plot however was actually a pretty good one though I feel like the storytelling of it could have been better. The idea of mermaids and the origin of gifts was a fantastic idea to write a book about but to be honest, the author could have wrote it better. And if any new author writes the same story, no matter how good the storytelling is, it would be considered clishe. I'm a bit disappointed in the perspective and storytelling but the main idea of the story was pretty good.

The End:

1     2     3     4     5

This is going to be a limited scale as I don't want to spoil the ending. I promise I won't reveal any secrets, but if you want it to be a complete surprise,  STOP READING.

The end was the most hateful ending ever. It is the one type of ending that I love and yet hate at the same time. Its a cliffhanger and a surprise. I love surprises and those moments when the entire story pieces together and you are in that moment of awe for around five minutes or so. I actually did find myself surprised, though I feel like that was my fault because I probably would have known the cliffhanger if I wasn't so ignorant while I was reading the book. The book did make me bored, but the ending is in one of my Top 5 Best/Worst Cliffhanger Endings.

The Summary:

Pros ---
-The plot was actually a really good idea.
-The ending is one of the best and worst I have ever read.
-The speed wasn't as slow as I expected it to be.

Cons ---
-The storytelling was quite disappointing.
-The first and third person transaction bugged me.
-It could have been better.

Final Rank: 

1     2     3     4     5

P.S

Sorry for being vague in this book review. I had a time limit, so I did a kind of short review. But to be honest, I can't really review this book in a way. I am pretty speechless on this book, but there are 5 words I have to say about this book: It could have been better.

Waiting on Wednesday! [2]

Recap: Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at the Breaking Spine book blog. It is a post dedicated to sharing the unreleased books you're waiting for. Here are this week's WoW books!

tick, tick, tick, tick, tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

This is Nicole's WoW for the week! Here are her thoughts: I fell in love with the first book [Shatter Me] sometime last year. Tahereh Mafi's prose is so beautiful and heartbreaking while Juliette was a smart, resourceful character. I enjoyed reading the details so much I absolutely CANNOT wait for this book. Excuse me while I go cry about the release date of February 2013.

********

June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—-June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.

It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.

But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

This is Sarah's WoW for the week! Here are her thoughts: This is actually a sequel as well. This is the sequel to the book Legend by Marie Lu. I thought her book was absolutely amazing and although people do hate on it, I feel like its a book that is worthy of praise. Not to mention, the book covers are awesome! The books comes out on January 29th. Not that far away I guess, but I'm still on the edge of my seat for this. :)

So we're waiting for these books this week! What are you waiting for?

REVIEW: Something Strange and Deadly

Book: Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard
Release Date: July 24th, 2012 by HarperTeen
Pages: 388 pages
Source: Library copy

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Something Strange and Deadly was a very enjoyable book to read, taking just about two days to read. The writing was clean and crisp, fitting in with the character voice perfectly. Below are my thoughts on this quick read.

The Romance:

1     2     3     4     5

This scale is different than most. 1 means that there is no romance at all. 5 means this book was a very, very romantic based book. A 3 will be the most common, as YA books surround another plot while dealing with romance too. Below are my thoughts on the romance.

 
This book takes the word "romance" differently than most YA stories. In Something Strange and Deadly, Eleanor Fitt doesn't fall in love with Daniel right away. Daniel doesn't fall in love with Eleanor at first sight either. In fact, he was pretty annoyed when he met her, as he made assumptions about her being some rich snob. But as the Dead became more consistent, they had no choice but to see each other again. They had to work together, along with Jie and Joseph (fantastic characters, by the way) to stop the zombies.

The romance in their friendship was pretty subtle, but the chemistry was powerful. I liked them together a lot, and was really thankful at the lack of love triangle and insta-love. I'd honestly like to read more books with romance as second priority (which this book is like).

The Action/ The Adventure:

1     2    3     4     5

The action scale is pretty obvious and it is just like the romance scale. 1 means there was no action. 5 means there was a lot of action. Whether or not the action was good, I'll tell you below.

There is some action in this story. But to honest, I was disappointed by a few of the scenes. For a book about zombies, I never really felt the fear I should, though I'm not sure if it was intended or not. Some scenes also didn't have that urgency of details added to it. Overall, they were somewhat interesting, but I felt like they could have been written in a more suspenseful way.

However, the adventure part of this story was great. Eleanor was a very adventerous character and she was brave too, which meant a lot of stuff happened.

The Speed:

1     2     3     4     5

The speed scale tells how fast the story goes. For example, if the introduction is boring and the whole book is going at snail pace, it'll probably be a ranking of 1.

I felt like the speed of this book was a little under average. It wasn't a big inference to the story, but some parts of the action (like mentioned above) could have been sped up to create suspense and some parts of the story were unneccesary. It wasn't boring, but for some people with less attention span, they might feel the urge to flip through the pages. For me though, I personally enjoyed them. They really let Eleanor's personality shine through.

The Plot/ The Perspective/ The Storytelling:

1     2     3     4     5

This isn't based on how much action shows up as the book progresses. It is based on the quality of the plot. Sometimes the plot is just unentertaining while others are the on-the-end-of-your-seat suspenseful. This is probably the scale that you should pay the most attention to.

Eleanor was an easy character to relate to. She was smart, yet not to the point of being snobby. She was kind, yet not to the point of being weak. She had that perfect quality to make readers like her. And if someone was bothering her, she knew what to do. Unlike some female protagonists, she had her own opinions and isn't always concerned about pointless stuff (guys, looks, what people thought of her).

The End:

1     2     3     4     5

This is going to be a limited scale as I don't want to spoil the ending. I promise I won't reveal any secrets, but if you want it to be a complete surprise,  STOP READING.

The ending of this book can be great or unsatisifying, depending on who you are. For me, I really liked it. It was super realistic, and had that bittersweet taste to it. It was also very unique, defying against a lot of YA books these days. The book had ended with the hint of a sequel.

The Summary:

The Good Points:

Eleanor's personality was amazing. Her thoughts were enjoyable, clever, and sharp. There was no insta-love beween her and Daniel, while the chemistry between them was very realistic. Daniel was a very likeable character too, along with Jie and Joseph being wonderful secondary characters. The writing of Susan Dennard was also flawless, the details being vidid and beautiful. If you love unique YA books, you'll definitely like this one.

The Bad Points:

Because this book is set in the 1800s, the writing is more fancy. For me, it had taken a few chapters to get used to the way Eleanor's thoughts were written. But nonetheless, it's easy to get used to. Also, in the publishing rights section of the book, the summary had included something about how this book was set into an alternate world. If so, then there weren't a lot of world-building in this book. A lot of times, I wondered why people aren't so surprised by the existence of zombies and spirits.

The action also could have been written in a more suspenseful way. For more details on this, check "The Action/ The Adventure" part of this review. And the ending for some people could have been unsatisifying. It was perfect to me, though.

Overall Thoughts:

Pros ---

- no insta-love
- Eleanor's awesome personality
- the other characters' personality (Jie, Joseph, Daniel)
- VERY unique plot (my first time reading about zombies in a YA book)

Cons ---

- takes awhile to get used to the language
- not a lot of world-building
- the action

Final Rank: 

1     2     3    4     5
I really liked this book. Eleanor, along with all the characters, were very enjoyable to read about. Eleanor and Daniel's subtle romance was great too. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to read a unique book.

In My Mailbox (3)

Recap: In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren! Just like last time, it gives you a chance to see what books bloggers recently got.

Nicole:

 

Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon
This will be Nicole's review to be posted somewhere in December. She got this book from the local library.

Goodreads Page | Published August 28th, 2012 by HarperCollins

Firelight by Sophie Jordan
This will also be Nicole's review! Expect this review to be up on this blog somewhere in December. Her thoughts: So I know this is kind of an old book, having published about two years ago, but I've heard good things about the sequels, which are fairly new and I want to give this a chance.

Goodreads Page | Published September 7th, 2010 by HarperTeen






Sarah:

Room by Emma Donoghue
This is my for-fun book that I am reading, but I'm thinking I'm going to do a review on this too. I got this book from a friend *cough cough Karla*, as a recommendation. The review should come around mid-December or late December.

Goodreads Page | Published September 13th, 2010 by Little, Brown and Company




Sarah's Confession: I got a TON of books from the library. And unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to be reading them anytime soon. So what I'll do is (since I'm too lazy to do them all at once) do maybe 1 or 2 books each week, depending on how many I plan to read. I know that's not how IMM works but I literally have 15, so I don't think it will hurt if I do it this way.

What's your IMM this week? Let us know in the comments!

RANDOM: How much do authors make?

RANDOM is a new meme that Nicole and I made up. It is:
Rhetorically
Asked
Not
Discussed
On
Memes
This is a meme that I will usually be doing, as Nicole mainly does RANT. Like RANT, I will only be doing this once in a while. Usually the questions will just be random, and the post will be published randomly. I hope that my answers will be helpful. Nicole will help me out sometimes, since my geek skills aren't as great as hers. On certain days, Nicole might do this meme too. So, feel free to ask us any inquiries about book publishing, the industry, or books. We might run out of questions soon...

Question: How much do authors make?

Well, to answer this question, you have to know HOW a book is published. Usually, a publisher will buy the book from the author. Then the publishers think about how good the book is. If they think the book is worth a lot and can sell a large quantity of copies, they'll pay more for the book. So there is no specific amount of money they get for each book. The deals can range hugely, such as a million dollars to almost nothing. There is also another factor that is important to the authors' pay. A portion of the money earned from the amount of copies sold is given to the author. So basically, there is no specific amount. It just depends on how much the publisher will give right away and how many copies are sold. For more information about this, including a scale about the prices, check out the website I got my information from. The blog's name is Kaleb Nation. There are also these websites that I found helpful: The Rejecter and Kimberly Pauley.

  

Ten Tips for Co-Bloggers

So as you know, Umbrella Dreams is a book blog run by two teenage girls who share the posts written. As co-bloggers, we sometimes share conflicts between what to post, when to post, and how. I'm pretty sure all co-bloggers share this problem.

That's why this post is written --- to help you have a better co-written blog.

Tips from Sarah and Nicole

1. Make a Schedule. Between two different people, their schedules probably vary a little bit...or a lot. For organization, me and Sarah share a schedule we both can access.We make a draft in a our posts section, write out dates and type in ideas for posts each day. To seperate both our thoughts, we color-code stuff --- blue for Sarah and pink for me, Nicole. So whenever we have an idea for a post, we check that draft and look for dates. To make sure we both see the schedule, we usually type out a funny, different title for the draft. Of course, make sure you don't accidentally publish that draft... (other options beside the posts section is available; you can make a schedule on Google Docs too)

2. Subtly give credit to whoever made something. I think one of the biggest problems is that people want to take credit for their work. Between me and Sarah, it's not that big of a problem, though our habits both tell us to write our names on everything. On our template, we have a small section next to the date where it tells who had posted it, but it's not the same for all blog designs.

If you guys both want credit for your work, don't selfishly hog the spotlight by spamming the page with your name. Instead, make a simple signature to tell your identities. And if your partner had created a page, give credit to them and vice versa.

3. Edit each other's works. To me, the most important part of co-writing a blog is that you guys have each others' backs. When I write a post, I usually keep it as a draft until Sarah checks it. I make sure that happens by changing the title.

Example: You're writing a post about cliches. You have already titled the page "cliches." To make sure your fellow co-blogger edits it and likes it, change the title to: Cliches (____ please read this). On top of the page, include what you want to know from your co-blogger. When he/she reviews it, have them write a small note at the top and change the title to Cliches (I read it). But P.S. Remember to delete all those extra notes later.

4. Work together on meme posts. Sarah and I do the popular "Waiting on Wednesday" and "In My Mailbox" posts. WoW is hosted by Jill at Breaking Spine and IMM is hosted by Kristi over at the Story Siren. Because me and Sarah usually post once a day, no matter who posts, we usually share the memes. I do half of it and she does the other half. That's why we end up with two books on on the WoW and more than multiple for the IMM. To make sure both co-bloggers add to the memes, we usually change the title and tell that person in advance on the schedule calendar.

5. Agree on blog design. People judge books by their covers. People also judge book blogs by their templates. That's why it's important to have a blog design you guys both like. If you guys are having trouble deciding, compromise on what template. Maybe if your co-blogger likes blue and you like pink, you can have a blue background but pink headline text.

6. Agree on how to write posts. I'm one of those really serious people about blog organization, which is funny because my room, locker, and house are a mess. But nonetheless, me and Sarah keep a template on how to write our reviews. That way, each review is the same as another and follow a format. Not all co-bloggers might need this, but Umbrella Dreams tend to have the same format for all IMM posts, another format for all WoW posts, and another format for all reviews. That way, no matter who writes it, all posts are same. Again, that's probably just one of my weird tedencies and Sarah's just a really good friend to follow it.

7. Compromise on ideas. A lot of people blog by themselves. It's probably easier that way, because you don't have to compromise on ideas, but it's also (in my opinion) a lot more fun to co-blog with a friend. So if you are co-blogger, keep in mind everyone's tastes are different, so work together with your partner to create the dream blog. Make sure you both know what posts are due, what to put on your sidebar and etc..

8. If needed, take a break. This rule also interacts with Rule #10, as it is very important to have fun. If you ever feel stressed out with blogging or really pressured to write good posts, don't be afraid to take a break. Have a co-blogger fill in on your posts and make sure to leave a note in the schedule.

9. Get to know each other. Take the time to know your co-blogger! For Sarah and I, we've known each other for 4 years, so we have conflicts but we forget them easily, since we both know each other's personality. Make sure you to connect with your fellow co-blogger.

10. Have fun! Blogging isn't a chore! Put some humor into your posts and don't be afraid to try something new!(:

Lastly, if you guys are blogging and want me and Sarah to take a look, we'll be happy to! Leave the link below!

Happy Thanksgiving! (Holiday)

Just a quick post on Thanksgiving. :) Felt like I needed to do this, so if any of you guys are reading this to get away from relatives, go say hi to them! Have a Happy Thanksgiving! :D

P.S
Don't stuff yourself too much, that is bad for you!

P.P.S
Thank you for supporting us on our first month of book blogging! We're still learning as we are still amateurs, so thank you for not minding our mess-ups and our disorganized template. Thanks!

BATCH (1) + The Introduction

BATCH is a new meme, but before I get into all of that, here's what you should know:

This is Sarah, and I have actually never heard of a book blog. Only when my friend asked me to co-blog for this blog, I was dragged into the world of book blogs. So when my friend introduced me into the memes,  I soon got an idea for a new one. Nicole was doing the usual IMM and WoW but I wanted something original so our blog wouldn't be a copy of all the others. So, I came up with the first BATCH.

Being
A
Thursday
Cover
Hoard

In this completely original blog meme, Nicole and I will be introducing you to books with covers we find interesting, misleading, or simply beautiful. People do tend to judge books by their covers, but some of the most amazing books out there have the most ugliest covers. As well as the vice versa of which the most dazzling of covers lead to the most weakest stories. There are also some books where the covers are amazing, and the story is too, so it'll be our job to introduce you to all of those books too. This meme will not be a Sarah book and Nicole book type of meme but a simple 2-people-Googling-up-books-and-finding-them-pretty type of meme. We'll share our experiences and hopefully, this will help you guys out when you are looking for new books.

Book: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Release Date: May 31st, 2011 (HarperTeen)
Pages: 487 Pages
Source: Library copy

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

As quoted from Nicole: I really wanted to like Starcrossed. I honestly did. But somehow, my plans took a different change of route. I ended up forcing myself to finish the last half of the book. 

Mini-Book Review from Nicole: This book had a lot of potential, in my opinion. The first chapter was prety promising..until the main boy character, Lucas showed up. Then it got super-cliche from there. People kept talking about him and he was the "most perfect guy ever." After that, it got interesting again: Helen wants to kill him, due to the Furies haunting her. But then all of a sudden, they fall in love and it just gets cliche all over. The next 300 pages or so is just about them fighting their fate, which is to replay the Trojan War, meaning she and Lucas can't be together. And the ending, when Helen's own mother tricked her and Lucas, it just felt really random. Not to mention, Helen was a really flat, 2-D character that had no voice. If you read it, you'll understand.

Sarah's thoughts without reading the book: Starcrossed sounds like a beautiful book, judging from its title and from the cover. But honestly, it does look kind of random. This book gives you a feeling of a good book, with a beautiful plot or something. DO NOT BE FOOLED. A tip is to read the introduction. Introductions are crucial to a good book. If it seems a bit boring, try a bit further and if it bores you, close the book and put it down. I have heard from Nicole that she absolutely hated it, so be warned: Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover.

RANT: Dystopian Cliches

The Hunger Games. Divergent. Uglies. Delirium. Matched.

Besides all being popular and carrying the dystopian genre, there is one other similarity:

Cliches.

And as I write this, I want to let you know: I love all those books up there. Divergent is one of my favorites. But sometimes, cliches get boring and this is where this post starts.

Here are things I constantly, constantly see in dystopian books nowadays:

1. The main character is a girl. I realize right now that most main characters are a girl, so this cliche doesn't just apply to the dystopian range. In all of the books I've read, there had only been 1 or 2 main boy characters. And I don't know why this must have been; there are guy authors too, but I guess they choose to have a female main characters.

2. The girl is an orphan. I use the term orphan loosely in this case. Orphan usually means having no parents, but in most dystopian books, there are 3 cases:

1. Both parents are dead/gone/missing or just not in the book.
2. The dad is dead/gone/missing/not in the book while the mom is in the book.
3. The mom is dead/gone/missing/not in the book while the dad is in the book.



Spoilers: In Divergent, Tris's parents both die. In Uglies, I don't think Tally ever mentioned her parents...? It's been awhile since I read that one, so I'm not 100% sure. But for The Hunger Games, Katniss's dad is dead while her mom is back at home, not in the book. So what is the deal with not having parents in dystopian books?

3. The villain is the government. This nearly applies for almost every dystopian book I read. In all of the examples I've provided above, it's always, always the government's fault. So ahem. Can there be a real villain for once? I know in Shatter Me, the villain is a guy named Warner, but if I remember right, he's working for or a part of the government.

4. The girl resists the government and rebels against it. Again, this is basically the main vague plot of all dystopian stories.

Spoilers: In Divergent, Tris rebels against Jeanine/the serum/Eric. In Uglies, Tally ends up in the wilds not wanting the plastic surgery. In Delirium, Lena falls in love and to hide her relationship with Alex, betraying their government. And so on....

5. The girl is special. Somehow, she is different than all the other people brainwashed by their society, and somehow she makes all the right decisions. So it's almost like she's perfect. And while this isn't a cliche I mind, some books try to make their main character sound like an over-the-top, amazing, beautiful person. It gets annoying once the details just keep on raving on how different and brave this girl is.

6. The girl meets the perfect guy and falls in love with him. In almost all dystopian stories (and regular comtemporary books), that guy is her first boyfriend. Which is nice if you think about it, because she doesn't have to go through all the heartbreak, but is it really realistic to think she'll marry her first boyfriend?

It's a sweet concept, but to be realistic, it's rare. Too rare to be happening in each dystopian book.

So that's the most popular cliches I find in dystopian books. And to be honest, I like a lot of these cliches. They all soften the harsh world of breaking up, being boring and a carbon copy of the others. It's just once you get past all those layers, you see more doubts of being realistic. And although I've just listed all the cliches, I still find myself having a soft spot for dystopian books. ^^;

What about you? Do you like cliches?

REVIEW: The Forsaken

Book: The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse
Release Date: July 10th, 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 375 Pages
Source: Library copy

As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.

The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.

I read The Forsaken in one night. It was one of those books that you desperately wanted to finish, even though flaws were evident in it. Nonetheless, I went to bed late in the end, too caught up with finishing this book. Continue reading this review to find out what I liked and disliked about this story.

The Romance:

1     2     3     4     5

This scale is different than most. 1 means that there is no romance at all. 5 means this book was a very, very romantic based book. A 3 will be the most common, as YA books surround another plot while dealing with romance too. Below are my thoughts on the romance.

Though in the cover flap, there is a mention of a boy, this book doesn't have that much romance in it. It has some, however, and the chemistry seemed force. At first, when we get a glimpse into Alenna's life in the UNA (United Northern Alliance, made up of USA, Canada, and Mexico), we see her on a field trip to the museum, where she sees a boy on one of the movie screens. From there, she kept thinking about him as she got to The Wheel (the island). She didn't even know him until the next few chapters, yet she had instantly felt a connection to this strange boy. After she met him, she found out his name was Liam and he was the best hunter in the wheel. Not to mention strong. And handsome. And perfect. Cliche yet? If not, Gadya, Alenna's friend, is also Liam's ex-girlfriend... and she still likes him.

Gadya is a hard character to describe. For one, she has some personality issues that I didn't like. She gets jealous easily and also produces an arrogrant aura. But along those lines, she also commands Alenna to stay away from Liam. Which is stupid if you think about it, because she was the one who broke up with him. Anyways, ignoring all of that, Alenna stays away from Liam. For awhile. Yet she still thinks about him and out of nowhere, Liam declares his love for her.

Normally, I'd be rooting for the courageous people. But this time, it's seriously ridiculous. Liam and Alenna have even barely talked before his confession. It seemed out of nowhere and just plain old awkward. And that's not even it. Liam's declaration was weak. He somehow went from seeing Alenna for the third/fourth time in his entire life and went to falling for her hard.

And Alenna. Why did she even like him? I know that Liam is "the greatest warrior" and everything, but she hadn't even known any of this when she saw him in the museum screens. He was a stranger on a TV screen, trying to communicate with the UNA. But apparently, his good looks wiped out the fact she didn't know his name. And then she felt all fluttery around him on the Wheel for no apparent reason; she didn't even know what his personality was like!  

And like I said before, Liam's declaration was weak. Here's basically what happened.

1. He confesses to Alenna.
2. He kisses her.
3. She freaks out.
4. They agree to be friends.
5. Like estimating about three days later, Liam decides to make her a guitar.
6. She is overjoyed and kisses him.
7. They are kind of dating in secret while Alenna doesn't know what to tell Gadya.

Because seriously? A guitar? If some guy I barely knew made me a guitar, I'd probably awkwardly say thanks and hand it back. She doesn't even think while accepting the gift. And then she kisses him. After she basically promised Gadya she wouldn't like Liam.

I hated this romance. And to sum it up, Liam and Alenna's attraction was pretty much insta-love without meaning.

The Action/ The Adventure:

 1     2     3     4     5

The action scale is pretty obvious and it is just like the romance scale. 1 means there was no action. 5 means there was a lot of action. Whether or not the action was good, I'll tell you below.

But besides me hating the romance, I found myself really enjoying the action part. Alenna ended up on a journey to find out her past and her parents, an admirable adventure. She learns a lot about survival in the process. And then she spends more time thinking of the structure of The Wheel.

To go more into detail of this, The Wheel is an island where the UNA sends kids who will be future criminals based on a high school test they take. Alenna is sent here somehow and she doesn't know much of this new civilization. The Wheel is also divided into 6 sections, with The Monk's tribe owning 4 of them and Alenna's friends owning 1. The other remaining one is the Gray Sector, where there is possibly a way to get off The Wheel...

The adventure truly begins when a group of people from Alenna's tribe passes into the Orange Sector, where the Monk is waiting.

And the Monk. What a character you love to hate but can't hate. The twist that came in the end made me sympathize with him. He wasn't a villain I disliked in the end. In fact, he was horrible in a way, but you will soon learn that there is a reason behind it all...

The Speed:

1     2     3     4     5

The speed scale tells how fast the story goes. For example, if the introduction is boring and the whole book is going at snail pace, it'll probably be a ranking of 1.

The ideal speed for me in a book is 4. That's how fast I would rate this book too. It's not too quick yet provides enough suspense to keep the story going. The beginning, where we get some background info about Alenna, is also nicely done.

The Plot/ The Perspective/ The Storytelling:

1     2     3     4     5

This isn't based on how much action shows up as the book progresses. It is based on the quality of the plot. Sometimes the plot is just unentertaining while others are the on-the-end-of-your-seat suspenseful. This is probably the scale that you should pay the most attention to.

When I first read the summary, I expected something like Uglies by Scott Westerfield.  A girl who ends up in the wild, looking to find her true self. But as I read the beginning, I discover it's a lot like Divergent by Veronica Roth. There's a test..involving a serum...taken when you were in the 16 year old range..supported by the government. But that's where the similarities with Divergent ends. After that, Alenna gets into The Wheel and I find similarities with The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The Blue Sector, where Alenna's tribe is, is set into a forest-like place, which I imagine is like The Hunger Games's setting. There is also fighting and death, likewise in The Hunger Games. But then, more of the story passes, and I find out that The Forsaken is getting more unique...until the last few pages of it. There is an explanation of what happened to the start of The Wheel and why it's there. And I won't spoil it, but then it became Divergent by Veronica Roth and I found myself cringing at how the reason of the Wheel is similar to Divergent.

The End:

1     2     3     4     5

This is going to be a limited scale as I don't want to spoil the ending. I promise I won't reveal any secrets, but if you want it to be a complete surprise,  STOP READING.

I am not satisified with the ending. There was this great, amazing, well-written conflict that had me on the edge of the seat and then it just fell flat.

I'm disappointed by the end.

And I don't know how to write this without spoiling it so I'll try my best but the other characters...I felt like they deserved A LOT better than that. Rika and her kindness. David and his loyalty. Even Gadya, who turned out to be an overall okay character, despite being rough in the beginning.

The ending killed me.

The Summary:

There are a lot of good things in this story, as well as bad things. Here, I'll list them out detailedly to help you decide whether you want to read the book or not. Keep in mind that this is my opinion and my opinion only.

The Good Points:

The action of this story is absolutely amazing. I loved the vivid details and ate up the beautiful descriptions. As the characters get into the Gray Sector, you honestly know they're all growing up and getting more mature. The pain of losing others is a prominent part of this story, as well as loyalty to people. David, one of Alenna's friend, was absolutely so nice to her that I wished he wasn't a paper character. I felt like he was even more realistic than Liam, who was supposedly the love interest of Alenna.

The Bad Points:

Like I mentioned before, I couldn't stand the romance. It was so insta-love and so quick that I found it unbelievable. Liam was also gone a huge chunk of the story, but when he got back, it was all like, "hey, it's good to see you again! So I saved you and now I love you. Let's be together!"

So they barely spent any time together and Alenna loves him too.

Ignoring that and knowing that the ending could have been better, it took awhile to get used to Alenna's voice. In the first two chapters, she was constantly on my nerves while being quite arrogant.

She had said a few times that she was sure of doing good on the test and that it must have been a mistake when she got into The Wheel. Yet, as soon as she saw Liam, none of that ever came up again.

So while that is a minor problem, she eventually grows to be a pretty good main character. She is thoughtful of her parents and adventerous while on the journey to the Gray Sector. It just took some time to get used to her.

That was the same way with Gadya, who was a pretty important character in The Forsaken. At first, she was rough and careless, also arrogrant as well. She had shamelessly demanded that Alenna must stay away from Liam. When Gadya had left for the Gray Sector, she didn't bother saying bye to Rika, who was supposedly a good friend.

So all in all, The Forsaken had a rough beginning, suspenseful middle, and disappointing ending for me.

Overall Thoughts:

Pros ---

- The action
- The minor characters' personality (example: Rika, David, etc..)
- There's a lot of suspense
- The Monk was a villain you loved to hate

Cons ---

- Similarity of other dystopian stories
- The ending
- Liam and the insta-love
- took awhile to get used to Gadya and Alenna's voices

Final Rank: 

1     2     3    4     5

I enjoyed this book. The suspense was what kept me reading and all it took was one night to finish. Alenna was an easy character to like once you got to the middle and past the whole Liam/insta-love thing. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy high-quality action-packed dystopian stories. But overall, I felt like The Forsaken could have been a lot more satisifying and needed more to make it a better story. That's why I thought it deserved a 3/5 stars.