Anomaly by Krista McGee

Thalli has fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds left to live. The toxic gas that will complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream. But she is not afraid.

Thalli is different than others in The State. She feels things. She asks questions. And in the State, this is not tolerated. The Ten scientists who survived the nuclear war that destroyed the world above believe that emotion was at the core of what went wrong—and they have genetically removed it from the citizens they have since created. Thalli has kept her malformation secret from those who have monitored her for most of her life, but when she receives an ancient piece of music to record as her community’s assigned musician, she can no longer keep her emotions secreted away.

Seen as a threat to the harmony of her Pod, Thalli is taken to the Scientists for immediate annihilation. But before that can happen, Berk—her former Pod mate who is being groomed as a Scientist—steps in and persuades the Scientists to keep Thalli alive as a test subject.

The more time she spends in the Scientist’s Pod, the clearer it becomes that things are not as simple as she was programmed to believe. She hears stories of a Designer—stories that fill her mind with more questions: Who can she trust? What is this emotion called love? And what if she isn’t just an anomaly, but part of a greater design?





My brain power is lacking, plus I have little to say about this book, so bullet points it is!

• Christian book - very obvious that the Ten Scientists were the bad guys and Christianity had to make its way back into this futuristic world 
• Had such a great premise but the lack of action made it seem very slow 
• More an individual search of identity and purpose than dystopian thriller, which was disappointing.
• Thalli appeared quite weak, although she did have her moments when she stood up against the man trying to drill a hole in her head. But she was always so scared of being found out as an "anomaly", or that the Designer wasn't answering her, or whatever it was that made her whine a lot. It wasn't that I didn't like her, I was just mostly indifferent towards her. 
•  Wasn't very well written, there were some pacing problems and the lack of any action made it quite boring.
• Glad I stuck with it, but not the best book for me personally.

Published 9th July 2013 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Weekly Highlights: the 'Clockwork' edition

Weekly Highlights is a feature borrowed from Faye of A Daydreamer's Thoughts, where I get to highlight my posts of the week, show you my new books and talk about bookish things! 

A quiet week, both on the blog and in reading. I've been insanely busy with work and I'm still getting the hang of fitting my reading and normal life stuff around odd hours. But I think I'm getting there. Hopefully.

On The Blog

Review of Zac and Mia by AJ Betts (4 stars)

Review of Solitaire by Alice Oseman (4 stars)

Currently Reading

Still plodding my way through Dear Life - nearly finished now! Alongside, I'm reading Into The Still Blue by Veronica Rossi, the third and final book of the Under The Never Sky trilogy. 

On My Bookshelf

Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
I'm not going to put up either of the synopsis in case of spoilers, but I'm sure all of you know that these are books 2 and 3 of the Infernal Devices trilogy. I'm hoping to get to them asap!

Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes

Outside, Anika Dragomir is all lip gloss and blond hair - the third most popular girl in school. Inside, she's a freak: a mix of dark thoughts, diabolical plots, and, if local chatter is to be believed, vampire DNA (after all, her father is Romanian). But she keeps it under wraps to maintain her social position. One step out of line and Becky Vilhauer, first most popular girl in school, will make her life hell.

I am really looking forward to this; sounds just like a teen movie (I'm thinking Mean Girls)! Thank you Harper Teen!

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

In case you’re wondering, this is not a love story.

My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that’s all over now.

Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden.

I don’t know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don’t care about Michael Holden.

I really don’t.

Like many other reviews for this, I think this really captured the reality of being a teen: lethargic, pessimistic and lying through your teeth about your feelings. Dark and lost in her own world of the internet and film references, Tori was surprisingly easy to relate to. The perfect voice for being a British teen, I'll admit I had my moments when I wanted to smack her but I do clearly remember my own days of being anti-social, annoying and lazy. 

The very vague synopsis left the story completely open and free from judgement; I had no idea what was going to happen and that rarely happens anymore! The secret behind this blog pulling pranks had me turning page after page, I just had to know what in God's name was going on! In amongst all this weirdness, there was pure and honest teen angst as Tori struggled to make her way through the pressures of sixth form, making and holding friendships, and attempting to understand the truth behind this strange lad Michael Holden. He was a weird one, but ironically, his shield of light hearted humour was the one thing Tori could count on. I really liked his bouncy personality and the angry layers that occasionally shone through.

Seeing the world through Tori's eyes, I realised that while her view was flawed, of course it was, we never really know another person completely. Her friends surprised her, and the way that some people came to the rescue or protected her from danger, or not as the case may be, showed that we only see what we want to see and every other teenager out there had the same dark thoughts Tori does. 

This was a refreshingly realistic view of the world, presented the way we are usually too scared to see it for how it really is: sharp edged but full of potential beauty. An amazing debut and definitely an author to watch.

Published 31st July 2014 by Harper Collins.

Zac and Mia by AJ Betts

The last person Zac expects in the room next door is a girl like Mia, angry and feisty with questionable taste in music. In the real world, he wouldn’t—couldn’t—be friends with her. In hospital different rules apply, and what begins as a knock on the wall leads to a note—then a friendship neither of them sees coming.

You need courage to be in hospital; different courage to be back in the real world. In one of these worlds Zac needs Mia. And in the other Mia needs Zac. Or maybe they both need each other, always.

This was an unexpected pleasure - a random review request and some quick research led me to reading this and I'm really glad I gave it a chance. It was set in Australia, which is a first for me, but really interesting and something new; didn't actually come up much apart from a few references to joeys! 

It centres around a tough topic, but one that is all around us. Praised as the new TFiOS, I was honestly hesitant to read it, I wasn't sure I could handle another sad love story. However, while it was sad and beautifully written like TFiOS, it wasn't much like it. It took place during chemo and the very hard parts of recovery, showing us the vulnerable parts of the hospital and putting on a brave face for the family. It was written in three parts, moving across the characters' perspectives and stories, from Zac to Mia and how they interact and change for having met each other.

Mia was difficult to like, she was very prideful and vain about the effects of chemo and this made her angry and spiteful to Zac who was just trying to help her. I'm not sure it helped her first impression of blasting angry music so Zac had to thump the wall to shut her up. I did immediately warm to Zac; currently staying in the hospital as he recovers, he complains about his mother hovering and the nurse's way-too-personal questions. He was clearly used to the atmosphere of the hospital and was quite funny. As the story moved from him to her, we got to know more about Mia's background and why she was acting as she was. 

I really liked this, and honestly I wasn't sure I would. It was refreshingly honest and funny and sweet and of course heartbreaking but very easy to read and get sucked into. Zac's family were all so supportive and loving and a little bit crazy, while Mia was having some issues with intimacy and made things worse by running away. Things got a little out of hand and then got worse and I was tearing up at the end! The ending wasn't exactly sad but not completely good either. I suppose it was also truthful, like the rest of the book, it ended with hope to beat the statistics.

Published 24th July 2013 by Text Publishing. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Weekly Highlights: the 'Poster' edition

Weekly Highlights is a feature borrowed from Faye of A Daydreamer's Thoughts, where I get to highlight my posts of the week, show you my new books and talk about bookish things! 

Erm, not a lot to report from this week. I haven't worked much since last weekend, although have picked up overtime for next week so that's good. Oooh, my TFIOS signed poster arrived yesterday! It was a splurge/early birthday present to myself and it's so pretty! Picture on my twitter if you're interested.

On The Blog

Review of Vivian Versus America by Katie Coyle (4 stars)

Review of The Memory Keepers by Natasha Ngan (5 stars)

Review of Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (5 stars)

Currently Reading

I've just started Anomoly by Krista McGee, which sounds really interesting, like a robotic sort of dystopian. 

On My Bookshelf

Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi
Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it's time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world.

The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do-and they are just as determined to stay together.

Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won't even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost.

Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission - because Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he's also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

I finally have the last book! A library copy (though I plan on buying for my collection soon) and I am so excited to read the epic conclusion!

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She's angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she's about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights' most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.
PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn't want--and couldn't escape.
Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine's diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There's comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal's antique pages--until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine's words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present. 

Andi is extremely depressed and no longer cares about school or anything so her father takes her with him to Paris in the hopes to get through to her. But being the estranged parent that he is, it doesn't really work. They fight a lot and Andi just wants to go home to her mother, whom has been shipped off to a psych hospital. In Andi's introduction, it takes a while to understand what has happened to make her so distant and her mother so distracted. 

Andi is a musical genius but is failing school and is drugged up on anti-depressants to get her through the day. She was quite difficult to get to know but I immediately felt her pain; how could you not, when she was blaming herself for her bother's death and contemplating jumping in front of every car that passed her? And yet I liked her, she didn't know how strong she was until she found a reason to keep going.

In Paris, she and her father are staying with old friends, one of whom is researching and starting a museum on the French Revolution. That's how Andi finds a diary in a hidden compartment in an old guitar case. A young girl trying to survive and make a living during the chaos of the revolution, Andi is immediately captivated. So am I actually, I loved the diary entries to the past and that time period has always fascinated me. Reading the diary, we get to know Alex, a drama lover who finds her ticket to the big leagues in entertaining the royal prince. For Andi it wasn't so much about comfort in Alex's words, more like distraction and obsession and the need for a happy ending in this crappy world. There was also a lot of similarities between her brother Truman and the young prince Louis-Charles and her heart broke at the thought that he died all alone.

I admit it took a while to get into but once we got to Paris, the story really took off. This book had a little of everything: romance, action, history, doing the right thing, fighting the revolution inside ourselves. It had a spectacular twist near the end that was highly entertaining and a little weird but I was hooked. I adored every page and was sad when it ended. But my oh my, was it an amazing book, filled with love, life and death, the tough choices and the horrible beauty that is life.

Published October 2011 by Bloomsbury.

The Memory Keepers by Natasha Ngan

"No one can take your memories from you... can they?"

Seven is a thief with a difference - he steals downloadable memories from banks and memoriums to sell onto London's black market, trading secrets and hidden pasts for a chance at a future of his own. He makes sure he keeps some special stuff back to 'surf' himself though - it's the only real form of entertainment he can afford. But one night, as Seven is breaking into a private memorium in a wealthy part of London, he is caught in the act by one of its residents; Alba, the teenage daughter of London's most famous criminal prosecutor. Instead of giving him away, Alba promises to keep Seven's secret - as long as he allows her to go memory-surfing herself. In doing so, they discover a hidden memory about Seven's past, revealing a shocking secret about Seven's childhood, the government and a mysterious experiment known as The Memory Keepers...

Now Seven and Alba will have to race against time to unlock the maze of The Memory Keepers - but can they keep themselves out of harm's way before the London Guard - and Alba's father - catches up with them?

Everything about this promised an amazing story: the future London, the enticing value of memories, and the absolutely heart breaking character stories. I flew through this, completely gripped to finding out the truth behind the Memory Keepers and what the deal was with Seven's past and how it tied to the memory trade.
 
Told in alternative perspectives, it was as much Alba's story as Seven's, which, much like the fact that is wasn't immediately a romance, was refreshing; they both needed a friend more than a complicated relationship on top of everything else! I really liked Alba and I especially appreciated that she wasn't just a spoiled child who wanted to see the world, she was trapped and genuinely hurting in the home she was in. As for Seven, my heart ached for him. He literally grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, with no parents, barely a home and resorting to stealing to make ends meat. They made an unlikely pair but grew to trust each other and came together for each other in the end.

Futuristic London was awesome and a little scary. North and south of the river were completely divided and world's apart in terms of health, social status and money. The economy based on the trade of memories, the most valuable and personal commodity a person can sell. That's what Seven did, but a little more unethically: he stole them right out of rich people's homes. And that's how he met Alba, in the middle of a heist and learned that there was more to it than just stealing. There was also, of course, secret parts of the ruling government and the horrible things they did that need to be uncovered. It was all very fast-paced and terrifying and amazing! I highly recommend it for fans of great UKYA, unlikely couples and just incredibly rich story-telling.

Published 4th September 2014 by Hot Key Books. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Vivian Versus America by Katie Coyle

Seventeen-year-old Vivian Apple has just travelled across the country, fended off roving bands of indoctrinated teenagers, re-evaluated everything she ever thought was true, and uncovered the dark secrets about the recent so-called 'Rapture' and the Church of America. And now, she must rescue her maybe-boyfriend Peter from the Church before the world is (supposedly) due to end, which is in less than three months. It's been a busy apocalypse so far.

Stranded in a city on the verge of complete panic, and faced with a society in an ever-increasing state of breakdown, Vivian and her friend Harp don't even know where to begin looking for Pete. But then a tip leads them to Los Angeles, and the somewhat unlikely location of the Chateau Marmont Hotel. Vivian must save the day - or she'll lose everything worth living for a second time...

This is the highly anticipated sequel to Vivian Versus the Apocalypse and we finally get some answers to the Big Questions. I read the first book last year and couldn't recall many details but Coyle did a very subtle summary that filled in the gaps nicely. So once I was all caught up, I dove right in to Vivian's next step, which was apparently to get named as terrorists and be forced into hiding. Yeah, things always go this well for them!

I loved the story arc for this book, it all spun around a militia group that Viv and Harp is caught up in, and the powerful information they share with the group; namely the truth about the Church and discovering the identities of the Angels. Now that we knew that the Church was just a capitalist extremist's dream gone mad, seeing the things that people did in the name of "religion" was just insane. And how many innocent people had been hurt or stuck in it, especially seeing Dylan pretending to be the poster boy for Jesus-approved denim and Peter the new spokesman, the lengths they had to go to just to survive in this ridiculous hostile environment was mind-blowing. 

The development of Vivian and Harper on their quest to bring down the Church was excellently done and corresponded with the developing relationship with secondary characters, especially Winnie and Peter. I loved getting to know Winnie properly; as Vivian half-sister, there was a lot of jealousy and sibling rivalry, inappropriate but they can't help it. And Peter, although he was in some major trouble, his and Viv's relationship wasn't the focus, nor a distraction; it was just hope in the world full of hate and lies. 

Happy with the answers I received, I then supported Viv and Harp as they attempted to spread the truth about the Church. But of course it wasn't going to be easy; a couple of truly awful things happen that I won't spoil for you but just know I was gasping aloud and my heart was hammering. I loved every page of this, especially the big finale, which was just the icing on the cake in many ways but incredibly sad in others. I will cherish this little series for the spin Coyle put on truth and the importance of family over the sometimes-foolish need to belong to something bigger.

Published 4th September 2014 by Hot Key Books. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Weekly Highlights: the 'Solitaire' edition

Weekly Highlights is a feature borrowed from Faye of A Daydreamer's Thoughts, where I get to highlight my posts of the week, show you my new books and talk about bookish things! 

Nothing new to report this week. I'm getting used to standing up all day at work, though my feet do still hurt! I do love it there though, it is so much fun and everyone's really nice, even the customers when I'm still learning! And apart from the possibility of a meet up in London in October with uni friends for Books Are My Bag, no book-ish news either.

On The Blog

Review of The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud (4 stars)

Review of We Were Liars by E Lockhart (4 stars)

Friday Reads: Revolution and Dear Life

 

Currently Reading

Like I said in my Friday Reads, I'm reading Revolution and Dear Life. I've nearly finish Revolution and I absolutely love it; the diary entries with Alex in the middle of the revolution is terrifying but gripping.

 

On My Bookshelf

Solitaire by Alice Oseman
In case you’re wondering, this is not a love story.

My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that’s all over now.

Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden.

I don’t know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don’t care about Michael Holden.

I really don’t.

Just the one new book this week. I'm really looking forward to this - it's a little treat to myself, and by treat I mean I took it from the staff room! But I still really want to read it and I've amazing things about it.

Friday Reads: Revolution and Dear Life

A new feature on the blog so you can see what I'm reading as I'm reading it and hear some random thoughts I have that can't wait for the full review. 

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly 
Another one that's been sat on my shelf for way too long, this is one for my Lucky 14 Challenge. Originally bought for my dissertation then not chosen, this tells of both modern life and old diary entries from the French Revolution. Andi is grieving the loss of her brother and finds comfort in the words of a century-old French girl. I am loving the blend of old and new, the past meeting the present and all that. The history of Paris is amazing and fascinating to read, at least to me! I'm not very far through because am reading it quite slowly but I am falling for Andi and all her troubles.

Dear Life by Alice Munro
A borrowed book from my grandmother, it's been sat on my shelf for months and I finally have my TBR under some semblance of control that I can read it. It's a collection of short stories, I think 14 in total, that show life as it truly is: messy and wonderful. They all involve a journey and show how everything leads to home, which for Munro is Toronto. I've only the first few so far, but I am enjoying them; they are realistic and have no happy ending waiting for them other than the normalcy of everyday life.

That's what I'm reading this weekend - tell me what you're hoping to read or are reading this Friday!

We Were Liars by E Lockhart

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

This is going to be a short review because I don't want to give anything away. There is a lot of hype around this, especially the twist ending. I enjoyed it, and until the very end I couldn't guess what the shocking twist was, which is always exciting. 

Cadence has had an accident and has lost her memories of summer fifteen; two years later she returns to the island and tries to remember what happened before and after her accident, which might not have even been one. As she speculates her memories and the cause of her migraines, she begins to piece together what happened that summer. 

It had this classy, old-fashioned feel to it, with the elite and famous family reputation and the whole family spending summers on a private island. But it was also full of lies and public faces; we learn that the kids carefree childhoods were undermined by slightly dysfunctional family ties. The three daughters fight for their father's attention, coming to a painful point after the death of their mother and the question of inheritance. The parents using the children to sway grandfather's opinion and the teens having enough to being played and used in petty, superficial squabbles.

I read this holding my breath, never quite sure what was going to happen when Cadence finally remembered the truth. Although I had heard varying opinions, all the hype did not ruin it for me and I really quite enjoyed it, weird as it was.

Published 15th May 2014 by Hot Key Books. 

The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud

In the six months since Anthony, Lucy, and George survived a night in the most haunted house in England, Lockwood & Co. hasn't made much progress. Quill Kipps and his team of Fittes agents keep swooping in on Lockwood's investigations. Finally, in a fit of anger, Anthony challenges his rival to a contest: the next time the two agencies compete on a job, the losing side will have to admit defeat in the Times newspaper. Things look up when a new client, Mr. Saunders, hires Lockwood & Co. to be present at the excavation of Edmund Bickerstaff, a Victorian doctor who reportedly tried to communicate with the dead. Saunders needs the coffin sealed with silver to prevent any supernatural trouble. All goes well—until George's curiosity attracts a horrible phantom. Back home at Portland Row, Lockwood accuses George of making too many careless mistakes. Lucy is distracted by urgent whispers coming from the skull in the ghost jar. Then the team is summoned to DEPRAC headquarters. Kipps is there too, much to Lockwood's annoyance. Bickerstaff's coffin was raided and a strange glass object buried with the corpse has vanished. Inspector Barnes believes the relic to be highly dangerous, and he wants it found.

The sequel to The Screaming Staircase, it continues with the main story of Lockwood, Lucy and George as they tackle the Problem and six months later they are still living off the successful reputation they gained from that case. However, it can't last long because, well, because they're them. So when they run into Kipps' team while making a fool of themselves, let's say they were embarrassed. 

It included everything I remember and loved about the first one, a great and slightly terrifying plot, weird and wonderful characters and of course the creepiness of a talking floating skull in a jar. So, the group is hired to find out what the heck is going on with an old Victorian grave. Problem is, they have no idea why the coffin was lined with iron, or why there is no proper documentation of his death, or what on earth that weird mirror thing is that was buried with him. Oh and of course they are working against the clock before Kipps and his team find it first and win the bet. So a lot to get done in only a few days! 

It was all very funny and full of awkward little moments bundled in with some serious ghost fighting skills. Oh and I finally realised who Lockwood reminds me of: the Doctor! The manic energy, the almost-rude remarks, the odd moments of collective calm and of course the secrets.With everything going on, between Lockwood's weirdness, the Fittes's crew and George maybe being ghost-touched, things are looking bleak. But they wouldn't be the heroes if they failed and although it was close at the end, my heart was literally in my throat, they made it through and saved the day. 

Published 25th September 2014 by Doubleday. Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Weekly Highlights: the 'so very tired' edition

Weekly Highlights is a feature borrowed from Faye of A Daydreamer's Thoughts, where I get to highlight my posts of the week, show you my new books and talk about bookish things! 

So I've been at the new job for a week now and although I've only worked about 4 days, I am really tired! I love working there but it involves a lot of standing and walking around and my feet aren't used to it yet. In other news, I had an unsuccessful interview that has knocked me down a little but I'm trying to move on; I do have a great part time job and that's enough for the moment.

On The Blog

Review of The Duff by Kody Keplinger (5 stars)
Review of Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger (5 stars)
Review of The 100 Society by Carla Spradbery (4 stars)

Currently Reading

Vivian Versus America - ah, I am so excited to be reading the next book and discovering more despicable things that the Church of America has been up to! Details below.

On The Bookshelf

Vivian Versus America by Katie Coyle

Seventeen-year-old Vivian Apple has just travelled across the country, fended off roving bands of indoctrinated teenagers, re-evaluated everything she ever thought was true, and uncovered the dark secrets about the recent so-called 'Rapture' and the Church of America. And now, she must rescue her maybe-boyfriend Peter from the Church before the world is (supposedly) due to end, which is in less than three months. It's been a busy apocalypse so far.

Stranded in a city on the verge of complete panic, and faced with a society in an ever-increasing state of breakdown, Vivian and her friend Harp don't even know where to begin looking for Pete. But then a tip leads them to Los Angeles, and the somewhat unlikely location of the Chateau Marmont Hotel. Vivian must save the day - or she'll lose everything worth living for a second time...

The Memory Keepers by Natasha Ngan
"No one can take your memories from you... can they?"

Seven is a thief with a difference - he steals downloadable memories from banks and memoriums to sell onto London's black market, trading secrets and hidden pasts for a chance at a future of his own. He makes sure he keeps some special stuff back to 'surf' himself though - it's the only real form of entertainment he can afford. But one night, as Seven is breaking into a private memorium in a wealthy part of London, he is caught in the act by one of its residents; Alba, the teenage daughter of London's most famous criminal prosecutor. Instead of giving him away, Alba promises to keep Seven's secret - as long as he allows her to go memory-surfing herself. In doing so, they discover a hidden memory about Seven's past, revealing a shocking secret about Seven's childhood, the government and a mysterious experiment known as The Memory Keepers...

Now Seven and Alba will have to race against time to unlock the maze of The Memory Keepers - but can they keep themselves out of harm's way before the London Guard - and Alba's father - catches up with them?

These two are late review copies from Hot Key - I am really excited to read them, especially to find out what happens next to Vivian! Thank you so much Hot Key, they are next on my TBR so reviews will follow soon! 

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas remembers is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade - a walled encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible stone maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there - or what's happened to the world outside.

Oh I do love being a bookseller! This came through yesterday as Children's Book of the Month and as everyone else had it already, it was mine! I wanted to read it before the movie anyway, so good timing all around.

The 100 Society by Carla Spradbery

For sixth-form student Grace Becker, The 100 Society is more than just a game; it's an obsession. Having convinced her five friends at Clifton Academy to see it through to the end, Grace will stop at nothing to carry out the rules of the game: tagging 100 locations around the city. With each step closer to the 100-mark they get, the higher the stakes become. But when the group catches the attention of a menacing stalker - the Reaper - he seems intent on exposing their illegal game, tormenting Grace with anonymous threats and branding their dormitory doors with his ominous tag.

As the once tight-knit group slowly unravels, torn apart by doubt and the death of a student, they no longer know who to trust.

With time running out, Grace must unmask the Reaper before he destroys everything she cares about for ever...

I've been looking forward to this since I first heard of it back in January! And while I have a few criticisms, mainly because it was pretty creepy, but it was a great story and I flew through it needing to know what happened! So, Grace and her friends have nearly completed the challenge to tag 100 locations around the city when they are suddenly followed and attacked. This starts a string of weird occurrences, like their blog getting hacked and photos of a reaper replacing their tags being published instead. They don't know who to trust, especially as they could get expelled if found out. All this secrecy had a sort of conspiracy feel and made everything that much more dangerous.

It was set in a boarding school, which was really fun and with added secret society's and street art, it made for a great background for a story full of layered characters and traitors in our midst. I really liked main character Grace; I didn't always connect with her but could understand her frustration and will to prove herself, especially with her already impressive father and older brother. 

The secondary characters came in and out of the story but were still reasonably well-rounded. I especially liked Cassie who proved that her appearance wasn't all that mattered to her. And finally possible love interest Trick, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks with everything to prove. He was very funny and caring and tried to show that nothing got to him but no one can be that heartless. 

As for the bad guy, Spradbery had me guessing until the very end and it completely shocked me. But that's the thing about psychopaths, they hide in plain sight and you never suspect. The things he did were just terrible and honestly made me a little sick, the way his twisted mind thought things were going to play out. So all in all, an amazing story with twisted characters and a spectacular ending. I'm not sure I always liked Grace, the way she made everything about her, but hey, nobody's perfect and she saved the day in the end. 

Published 4th September 2014 by Hodder. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

Whitley Johnson's dream summer of shopping, partying and tanning on the beach has just turned into a nightmare. Because Dad didn't tell her he doesn't live by the beach anymore, or that he's no longer a bachelor. He's picked up and moved to a tiny, lame town called Hamilton and gotten himself a fiance. A fiance whose son just happens to be what's-his-name from last week's drunken graduation party one night stand. Just freakin' great.

As if the summer couldn't get worse, Dad seems to forget Whitley's even there. She doesn't fit in with his perfect new country club family, and Whitley does what any kid lucky enough to go all summer unsupervised does: she parties. Hard.

So hard that she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a younger future step-sister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't 'do friends') and a smoking hot, sweet guy who isn't her step brother (yet) and who actually seems to care for her. It will take all three of them to convince her that they're not phoneys, and to get Whitley to get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

I don't think I need to say much about how much I adore Keplinger's books that you haven't already heard. So I'm going to keep it short and sweet.

• the same bluntness when it comes to the truth of teenage activities, but more to do with raw sexuality, teen drinking and the whole party-girl image than The Duff. 
• Whitley was a very complex character - a semi-typical party girl, she was pretty annoying and flirty and had minimal boundaries but once we go under her skin, we saw what made her the way she is. I really liked her, especially once we understood her back story with her parents.
• revisited a couple of characters from The Duff, which was really fun. I especially liked getting to know Harrison, whom we only saw through a girl's fantasy crush before. He and Nathan were both really cool male leads; both were very funny and sweet and obviously cared for Whitley, it was nice to see her blossom under new friendships.
• the relationship between Whitley and her father and new girl was really interesting - it is all too easy to make the new step-parent a nightmare but Keplinger didn't, which was refreshing and also more realistic.

Published 6th February 2014 by Hodder. 

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "the Duff," she throws her Coke in his face. 
But things aren't so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him. 
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. And eventually, through this realization, Bianca begins to see how harmful her unhealthy way of dealing with her problems has been, and finds a way to confront them head on.

Why it took me so long to read this, I have no idea because I loved everything about it! I fell in love with Keplinger's writing with Shut Out and knew I had to read her back catalogue as well. The Duff is a funny and cynical story about teenage relationships and what they can lead to. Bianca was absolutely perfect; she was not a romantic by any means and was very tough-skinned. So when Wesley calls her the Duff of her friend group, she throws coke at him. 

Bianca's home life was quite pitiful; her mum was always travelling and her dad always working, so Bianca pretty much looked after herself. Which is how she liked it, but when her world came crumbling down with divorce papers, she does the first thing she thinks of to distract herself: kiss Wesley. Not what I would call a healthy coping mechanism but Bianca uses Wesley to keep the bad thoughts at bay. And through this ever-increasing means of distraction, she learns a couple of things. The main one being that Wesley isn't all that bad. He was left to his own devices too and it sucked to be all along in a big house, plus his sister was pulling away from him encouraged by the poisonous words of their grandmother. 

Despite being a pretty weird relationship, I liked Bianca and Wesley together. They sort of balanced each other out and neither took any bullshit from the other! But Bianca had to go an ruin it as she realised she was falling for him and she just couldn't do that to herself again. I think Keplinger did an amazing job keeping this down to earth and completely honest; Bianca's voice was brash and harsh yet hiding vulnerability and that made her so damn relatable. Keplinger also dealt with tougher issues than teen sexuality, from divorce to alcoholism which many kids go through and I think Keplinger handled brilliantly. Nothing is perfect and Bianca and Wesley were definitely affected by all this but came out stronger together for it. 

Hilarious and touching, covering everything from parents to self-esteem, Keplinger has written an amazing debut and an absolutely adorable and realistic love story.

Published 5th April 2012 by Hodder.