Time to move!

My apologies to the fact that I have ignored my blog for months now, but OriolesMagic521 is going to have to retire. My blog will be moved to thehawtdorkreads.wordpress.com

Please visit my new book blog!

“The Long Way Home” Review

       

Warning: Do not read this review of The Long Way Home if you have not read the first book of The Homelanders series, The Last Thing I Remember.  Here is the link to my review of the first book: http://oriolesmagic521.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/the-last-thing-i-remember-review/   

I think The Long Way Home was even better than The Last Thing I Remember. It wasn’t by much, and it might be just my opinion. The first book was more confusing and maybe even more suspenseful, but it felt that the second book was more interesting and maybe more dramatic. With the situation with Beth and everything, it just had a little bit of typical teenage drama.

Due to his run-in with the law and loss of memory in The Last Thing I Remember, Charlie West is a fugitive, running away from the police, the Homelanders, and pretty much everybody. The mystery still remains: Did he murder Alex? How could he be a murderer? If he didn’t kill Alex, then who did? The answers he is searching for can only be found in his home town, Spring Hill. There he is reminded of his old life, old friends, Sensei Mike, and (of course) Beth. As he’s flooded with memories and faced with the mystery of a lifetime, he finds what he thinks he needs…if only he knew how to deal with it.

I really, REALLY want to read the next book, The Truth of the Matter. Of course, I have a pile of books in my bedroom that need to be finished before I should go off reading that book. *tear* Reading responsibilities are so difficult.

Rating: A

“The Legacy” Review

Warning. Do NOT read this review before reading the first two books in The Declaration series: The Declaration and The Resistance. Those are two very amazing books, and I strongly recommend them. 

Honestly, I was rather disappointed in The Legacy. When I saw that there was another addition to The Declaration series, I jumped for joy. I’ve been waiting for this for far too long. This book did have some competition in order to be as good as The Declaration and The Resistance, but it still just wasn’t good enough in comparison. It seemed rather boring and dragged on a little. It might have been because there seemed to be less action, but I really got wrapped into the book around the end. It got awesomely suspenseful just like it was in the first two books. Truly, the book was good – just not good enough.

No one has ever questioned Longevity’s superiority as the giver of eternal life; Richard Pincent has made certain of that. But, what do people do when Longevity cannot fight an unknown virus, causing lives to be lost? Perhaps there is a loophole in Longevity, or maybe death has just finally won this long battle.

Peter and Anna are still living in the country with their new baby Molly and brother Ben – not that Peter is happy about this. Anna is happy to be away from all the action despite her consistent nightmares and restless fears of the authorities coming and taking away the kids. Peter, being a fighter, cannot resist the want to get back with the Underground and be right in the action. A strange e-mail from Jude isn’t helping Peter’s anxiety to join them. In this strange situation, Peter needs to choose between his family or his want to fight.

Jude is still his usual techy-self staying with the Underground with Sheila and Pip. As Jude mopes over only being needed online and through reading books, Sheila is trying to find her parents. If only Pip wouldn’t disapprove of Jude helping Sheila, perhaps Jude would tell her his results from his research. The Underground hasn’t changed much except for their concerns in the death rate from this strange virus.

The series is finished, and a part of me is a little sad. But that’s always a good sign in a series. Oh, how bittersweet reading can be…

Rating: B

“Solitary” Review

Wow, this book was amazing. I had heard of Solitary before, saw it in a Christian book catalog, and decided to read it. I must say that it was excellent. I was so wrapped up in the story that it seemed as if I could never put it down. I’m very excited to read the next book in The Solitary Tales, Gravestone.

Chris Buckley had a rather simple life growing up in Chicago, Illinois until his parents divorced and he moved to Solitary, North Carolina with his mother. Despite his mom’s strange behavior since the divorce, Chris is doing his best to make friends at school. Yeah, that’s not going so well. He quickly befriends Poe, a gothic freak; Jocelyn, one of the coolest girls Chris thinks he’s ever met; and Rachel, the bubbly blonde weirdo. He also makes enemies rather quickly when standing up for a nerd of the school. Now he has lukewarm friends and a group of people who would like to beat him up so hard that his ancestors feel it. The strange behavior of people in Solitary, the disappearings of teenagers past in this town, and the spooky cabin not too far from home are all rather disturbing to Chris as well. In Chris’s want to understand this strange little town and solve the mysteries, he also is facing difficult decisions if he wants to be a supportive son; and his awkward search for a new faith becomes more difficult.

This book is about four hundred pages and rather well-written. The way Travis Thrasher writes has a suspenseful twist to it in itself. I’m interested in reading some of his other books as well.

Solitary is a very suspenseful, exciting book for young adults; but I recommend it for adults as well.

Rating: A

“Double Take” by Melody Carlson Review

        At first, I was a little skeptical about Double Take considering Melody Carlson hasn’t seemed the type to include an Amish character (Anna Fisher) in one of her books – especially having Anna character be one of the lead characters. I knew Melody Carlson would definitely do a great job with the other character, Madison Van Buren, because she’s the classic spoiled New York City girl; and Carlson has had practice with characters like her before. I quickly learned that Carlson did a great job with this book without making it TOO Amish. I don’t mean that in an offensive way; it’s just that the Amish Christian book thing has really gotten old. Seriously, walk into a Christian book store and just TRY to escaped the Amish books; it’s nearly impossible. Carlson put a good twist on the book and showed interest in both characters and scenarios.

Madison Van Buren lives in New York City with her divorced mother and maid Nadya as she lives the classic spoiled New York life style. She has drama out the gazoo for spring break considering she has four different people who want her to go to four different places. Does she want to go with any of them? Not really. Whatever happened to Madison making her own decisions about her life? In her irritation and supposed stress, she goes out for a very long car ride when she finds herself in Amish country and meets Anna Fisher who has a striking resemblance to Madison. Anna is the typical Amish girl whose life revolves around work and is debating whether or not to be baptized into the Amish country for good. While Anna is waiting for her uncle to pick her up to go to her Aunt Rachel’s house in order for Anna to help Rachel until Rachel has her baby, Anna collides into Madison. When Madison mentions that they look strangely alike, they begin conversing and realize that they both have what seems like the amazing life to the other. Madison comes up with the bizarre idea that they trade places which is exactly what takes place. They exchange clothes and teach one another about themselves until it is time to depart for a week.

What was rather comical was the story of how both girls had to adapt to their new environment. It cracked me up how Anna would phrase things such as a cell phone or high heels. It was also funny how Madison felt about the Amish country even though it is a little unusual to me as well…considering I’m not Amish.

Double Take is a great read, and I recommend it for all of the other teenage girl Melody Carlson fans.

Rating: A

“Rendezvous” Review

Rendezvous, another awesome book by Melody Carlson, is the third book in the On the Runway series and probably my favorite of the series thus far. In this book, we run into Eliza Wilton and Taylor Mitchell from The Carter House Girls series once again which I thought was very cool.

Paige and Erin Forrester take their show, “On the Runway,” to Paris where they will be interviewing numerous designers and be supporting Dylan Marceau’s Paris debut. While in Paris, they run into the models Taylor and Eliza which encourages a little drama itself. With Benjamin’s court trial and Paige’s trip to Paris, their relationship is having on by a thread (if it’s even existent). Now with Paige being alone with Dylan in Paris, it’s up to Paige to decide. But Paige isn’t the only one with drama; Erin must decide between Blake and a boy she met when they were interviewing a designer. Does Erin even know what she wants though?

The only thing I found a little difficult is…I don’t speak French. I speak English. That’s it. There were some parts in Rendezvous that there was a language barrier between the characters. Then someone might say a couple words in French. At times, they were later translated; but there were also times that you were kinda left hanging.

Melody Carlson has done it again! I would really like to have a firm discussion with her editor, but I adore her books. Now I just need to wait until the fourth book of On the Runway, Spotlight, is delivered into my hands.

Rating: A

“Catwalk” Review

I definitely liked the first book of the On the Runway series, Premiere, better than Catwalk, the second book. This book was certainly good, but it wasn’t as good as the first one was. There were certain parts of Catwalk that it was just boring, and it really needed some more “pizzazz.” However, there were some areas that had you fan-girl screaming, whether it was good or bad.

Paige and Erin Forrester plan on moving their show “On the Runway” to New York for Fashion Week. Erin’s nick-name “Jiminy Cricket,” because she acts as Paige’s “conscience,” certainly comes into play. While Paige does her best to woo the popular designers, she also needs to tune down her obsession with herself before she can truly be a good host. Just as Erin has been instructed, it is her job to make sure that Paige does just that. The Forrester sisters find new opportunities, new friends, and new life lessons in Catwalk. 

What I thought was really interesting about this book would definitely be that I had been comparing it to The Carter House Girls series, also by Melody Carlson, since I read Premiere. Then certain characters from that series were actually added to the On the Runway series. Paige and Erin interview Taylor, Mrs. Carter, and Rhiannon; have a sleepover with DJ, Rhiannon, Eliza, and Taylor; and go to an after-party with some of the characters for Dylan Marceau’s fashion show.

On the Runway has proved itself to be a good series thus far. I’m excited to read the next book, Rendezvous, but this is definitely Melody Carlson’s best series. Perhaps that’s why it isn’t quite as popular as other books by her.

Rating: B

“I Beat the Odds” Review

I had heard good things about I Beat the Odds and couldn’t help but be interested considering I absolutely loved the movie “The Blind Side.” Considering the Ravens is the football team that I support, I was especially interested in reading a book by Michael Oher. This book was very interesting and entertaining; I definitely recommend it for anyone who loved the movie “The Blind Side.”

Undoubtedly, there will be some people who are interested in this book simply because they enjoyed the movie. In I Beat the Odds, Michael Oher discusses certain parts of the movie that were either not true or not completely expressive of what had really taken place. He also speaks about the writing of the book The Blind Side and how that came to be.

The information that is not expressed greatly in the movie “The Blind Side” is what  Michael Oher’s life was like while he was living in the ghetto and before the Tuohy family had taken him him full-time.  He explains how his life was living with a large amount of brothers and sisters with a crack-addict mother and about moving from foster home to foster home and school to school. He also explains how he began studying at Briarcrest, how the Tuohy’s discovered him, and how he beat the odds of getting out of the ghetto.

What I loved about this book was not only how inspirational Michael Oher’s story was but that he put such an emphasis on how it wasn’t just by luck that he beat the odds. The main reason he made it out of the ghetto and into the NFL is because he worked hard to get there and never gave up.

Rating: A

“Raising Dragons” Review

I must say that I didn’t know what to expect from Raising Dragons, but I was pleasantly surprised. I love Bryan Davis’s books, and I’ve been told that the Dragons in Our Midst series is awesome. However, I just wasn’t sure at first considering it’s been said that this is a very original fantasy book; and I have always personally enjoyed fantasy books such as Eragon or Lord of the Rings. The first fifty-or-so pages were so boring that I couldn’t help but wonder, “Do I really want to force myself to read four hundred pages of this?” But I rarely “drop” a book, and I wasn’t about to start on this one (especially considering I ended up really enjoying it).

Billy Bannister is really getting tired of getting called “Dragon breath.” Honestly, he doesn’t even know why his breath has recently become so hot; but he wasn’t about to talk to somebody about it. It’s just not the normal thing to ask. When his parents find out about his little secret, Billy’s father reveals to Billy that Billy’s father is really a dragon in human form and that is the reason for Billy’s heated breath. On top of that, there’s a peculiar girl at Billy’s school named Bonnie (nicknamed “Bonnie backpack” because she wears such a big backpack at all times) who also has a family connection to dragons and has a certain “dragon characteristic” as well.

This book seemed better fit for middle-school students than high-school students. Don’t get me wrong; I’m a high-school student myself and enjoyed this book. It just seemed written more to the middle-school audience to me. I was told this was a teenager’s book, but perhaps it’s meant more for preteens. Raising Dragons wasn’t even in the young adult section in my library; I found that a little strange.

Around page 100, the story really gets gripping and interesting. I didn’t really think I liked it at first, but I later realized what a good book this is. I’m excited to read The Candlestone, the second book in the Dragons in Our Midst series. Only issue is that I have quite a large selection of books to read before I have the chance to read that one. Oh well, I’ll get there eventually. Regardless, this was overall an excellent read.

Rating: A

“Mockingjay” Review

Warning: This review is going to contain spoilers if you have not read Catching Fire and The Hunger Games. Now you need to read those two books if you’re really ignorant enough to have not read them because they are, simply put, amazing.

I was so disappointed in Mockingjay. Everything that I wanted to happen…didn’t. Of course, it was excellent because it was a book of The Hunger Games series; but it not only had some serious competition because Catching Fire and The Hunger Games were so fantastic but it also wasn’t exactly the happiest book ever.

Another thing I really didn’t like was how Gale was portrayed as such a jerk in Mockingjay. Considering Peeta was captured by the Capitol, you’d expect Gale to be shown as a nice guy for Katniss to come to while Peeta was missing. Now that’s a lot for me to say considering I’m Team Peeta, but the author seriously didn’t satisfy Peeta or Gale fans. Maybe the book was less painful for Gale fans than it was for Peeta fans despite how I felt. For instance, my cousin Anita is Team Gale and thinks that Mockingjay was the best book overall.

Now that Katniss has been saved from the Hunger Games arena, she is moved to District 13 because District 12 has been destroyed. There are indeed people living underground in District 13 who are looking for someone to lead the rebellion, but Katniss seems more interested in disobeying the rules and moping. Considering Peeta was captured by the Capitol, the only one she can go to is Gale. Now she and Gale are both considered “soldiers” for District 13 in the rebellion. The leaders of District 13 are doing their best to get Katniss to agree to being their leader – or “Mockingjay” – for the rebellion while Peeta is being recognized as a traitor.

Mockingjay was definitely an excellent book, but it was just a major downer for me. It left me feeling totally upset and disappointed. I kept screaming (yes, literally screaming) at the book, “I’M GOING TO WRITE A VERY STRONGLY WORDED LETTER TO YOU, SUZANNE COLLINS!” Yeah, I never ended up doing that…

Rating: A

BONUS!!! I started a new blog! I’m still keeping this blog though. It’s not even a book blog; it’s a beauty blog. Check it out http://dorkscanbehawt.wordpress.com