Uncommon Criminals

Uncommon Criminals
written by Ally Carter

I firmly believe that this series should not be a series.  It should have been a stand-alone focused on the main cast of characters trying to determine the identity of Romani.  These filler stories are getting boring, and I just don't care.  Dragging a story out doesn't increase suspense in this case, it makes the reader lose interest.  I don't know if I want to read more in this series, maybe just the final book, whenever that happens.  For now, though, it's just filler, it's like the higher level equivalent of the elementary school Encyclopedia Brown or Nancy Drew, mysteries with a well-developed cast of characters, but a droll, predictable plot.  I do like the characters, I want to know more about them, and where there are opportunities for character development, the author chooses instead to go with recounting the details of various heists that would work better on screen and losing my attention.  There's a great bigger mystery set-up, why not just go with that one and let the story be, instead of adding unnecessary contrivances?

Also in this series:
Heist Society

You Know Where to Find Me

You Know Where to Find Me
written by Rachel Cohn

I think I had tried reading some of Rachel Cohn's earlier solo writing before, and just couldn't get into it.  Her writing seems to have greatly matured in this novel, so it's not just sex, drugs, and rock n' roll, but deals with difficult topics with a more developed sensitivity and complexity.  And it's not a perfect book, there are things that could have been expanded upon, and a few disjointed ideas here and there that could have used connecting, but overall, I was pleasantly surprised.  The ending did feel a bit lacking, though, and I would have liked to have been able to see more of her recovery.  Funny how so often, books end at beginnings.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
written by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

I am not a person who is familiar with music.  I don't live in that world.  Concerts are terrifying experiences that frighten my introverted self into hiding.  This book was not written for a person like me.  I felt like, to genuinely love this book, one would have to be a music lover, and while I enjoy listening to music, that's about the extent of it for me.  It's kind of a foreign world.  It would be interesting to read about, but the terminology left me mostly lost and confused.  The latter part of the book was easier to get through, as the focus shifted from the music to the people, and the characters became humanized and likable, developed beyond a shared interest in music.  It was just a hit or miss book for me, where I loved the philosophical musings on life and love, and felt myself drowning in namedrops and references that I couldn't understand.  I can see the appeal, I can see why so many people do love this book, and that's great that they can find so much significance in their reading experiences, I just personally can't, and that's okay, too.

The Taker

The Taker
written by J.M. Steele



There's not much to talk about in terms of the book itself.  It's your typical YA, not too well written, not too horrible, with barely memorable characters and contrived plotlines.  This is the story that could have been great, but didn't try hard enough.  This book easily could have gone into the complexities of cheating and just how messed up standardized testing and the educational climate are right now, and where cheating would fit within that big picture...but it didn't.  Big, important, ethical arguments could have been made.  Instead, we got a fluffy story about a teenage girl's day to day goings on.  I don't know, readers, I think John Green's got the right idea in saying that teenagers are smarter than we sometimes give them credit.  Teens are totally capable of reading this kind of book, but also capable of so much more intelligent thought.  They live these complicated lives every day.  It's not that much of a stretch to believe they'd be able to read about the same.

Rating: 2/5

Bogus to Bubbly: An Insider's Guide to the World of Uglies

Bogus to Bubbly
written by Scott Westerfeld



I've had this book on my wishlist since before it came out, and I'm glad I finally got the chance to read it.  There's not much to review in terms of plot and story, as this is more of a reference guide to the elaborate Uglies universe constructed by Scott Westerfeld.  I honestly do wish more books came with reference guides, bonus extras from the authors to fully immerse their readers in the characters and their worlds.  Obviously this wouldn't work with all books (standalones, etc.), but with books set in extensive worlds, it would be such a great addition.  Westerfeld really seems connected to his readers and what they want to know.  There's a good mix of general review information that was found in the books, as well as enhancing new material.  Loved it.

Rating: 5/5

The Future of Us

The Future of Us
written by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler



Jay Asher maybe should have reconsidered writing such a smashing debut novel.  I'm concerned he won't be able to top it, and the high expectations have been set.  It's hard to separate this novel from Thirteen Reasons Why, the latter being my favorite YA.  While I'm sure some may have seen the integration of online social networks in a book as being gimmicky, I thought it was a great element, seeing as the internet is such a big part of all of our lives.  I hope to see more YA featuring the internet as a story element.  The story concept isn't a poor one either, it's pretty compelling to read about destiny vs. free will in a novel aimed at teens, particularly taking into account that the futures are changing and not set in stone.  But it's a different book entirely from Asher's previous Thirteen Reasons Why, and I wish it was easier to sever the tie between the two, but considering he's only written the two books, it's difficult.  I almost thought this book would  make a better television show than crammed into the space of a book.  It's a good idea with great potential, but could have been more.  I would have wanted more extensive thoughts on the ideas of destiny and free will, bigger life-revelations rather than teen drama, something more along the lines of the words and big ideas that we get from John Green or Asher himself in TRW.  He's certainly capable of it, and I wish it had been done that way.

Rating: 3/5

North of Beautiful

North of Beautiful
written by Justina Chen Headley



I'd heard so much about this book, all incredible, so I finally made an effort to pick it up for myself.  Even just reading the summary, I knew this book was going to be a life-changing one.  And throughout reading the beautifully combined words, it struck chord after chord in relation to my own life.  This is a must-read for every teen, I have no hesitations saying that.  From body image issues to more subtle but just as dangerous forms of abuse, this book jumps headfirst into real issues faced by real people, and true to its title, addresses them beautifully.  The ending is sweet, although I would really have loved to see more of the fallout for her family, but the slightly open ending does leave room for stimulating the reader's own thoughts beyond the words on the page.

Rating: 5/5

The Gemma Doyle Trilogy

written by Libba Bray


A Great and Terrible Beauty


I had read the first two novels in Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy in the past, although I had done so with many years between the two reads, when the books had first been released.  This is an intricately woven series and as such, unless the reader possesses a stellar memory (which I do not), should probably be read closer together, with many rereads, for best results.  This time around, I read all three novels in a row in the course of about a week, and was not disappointed with the results.  I am not a reader who enjoys pieces set in the Victorian Era.  It seems too far removed from today, and I find it difficult to care.  But Libba Bray manages to craft a world that is both removed from ours today, but still filled with the same basic humanity.  These are characters carefully crafted to be known and loved.  I don't know how Libba Bray plotted the entire detailed story out, but she must have taken the time and effort to do so, building a full world unlike our own that comes to life.  She introduces the new reader to this world alongside Gemma's introduction to the same world, easing us all into a surprisingly full universe.  The worldbuilding suggests a great translation to film, if that is ever pursued.  Minor complaint of unnecessary flowery descriptions every once in a while, but beyond that, a relatively manageable balance of story elements.

Rating: 4.5/5

Rebel Angels




In most trilogies, the second book seems to serve as an expository bridge between the introduction to the world and the massive conclusion.  And while there might be a grain of truth to this with Rebel Angels, the book does a good job of standing up for itself, which is a testament to Bray's storytelling abilities.  Parts of this book subtly set up for events to happen in the third installment, but much of it is able to stand on its own feet (although I wouldn't recommend reading the second book before reading the first).  One thing that really struck me in the reading of Rebel Angels is how easily this series could have been a female-centric Harry Potter...but how that was subverted.  Certainly, parallels can be drawn, as they can be with most great works of fiction, but the books, again, stand on their own.  And on the topic of things that were subverted, Libba Bray is a goddess for many things, but her subversion of the drawn out love triangle is one notable aspect of the story.  It's there, but it's a background element and obviously so.  It's rare that I enjoy the second book in a trilogy, but then, Libba Bray is certainly a one-of-a-kind writer.

Rating: 4.5/5

The Sweet Far Thing




This book, being the conclusion of the trilogy, was arguably the most dramatic of the three.  Each book had its emotional ups and downs, but there's an added element of urgency and confusion mixed in throughout the third, making it a highly emotional read from start to finish.  I'd just finished the book and haven't had the chance to look through interviews or other statements from the author, but I'm very curious to learn how much of the story was planned out in advance, and how much, if any, was made up as she wrote.  For such an intricate story, I would assume it had to be mostly the former.  Bray was able to balance all of the elements she had set up well, with no one plot point dominating the story, but various themes interwoven throughout, equally sharing the space that had been set up for them to coexist, all coming together in an epic finale.

Rating: 5/5

The Realm of Possibility

The Realm of Possibility
written by David Levithan



I was really excited to read The Realm of Possibility.  I'm a fan of Levithan's many other works, and thought this would be on par with his other writing.  Character development is a personal favorite feature of novels, and with 20 different characters featured, I thought we'd get to see plenty of that.  Unfortunately, 20 characters ended up leading to 20 disjointed, messy, incoherent stories, to the point where I was confused about the very purpose of the book.  It read more like an outline for a book than a finished copy.  It was a good start, and could have been executed better, perhaps in using short stories rather than poems, but there wasn't much cohesion between the 20 stories being told.  The writing itself was classic Levithan, full of Big Life Truths, and it did not disappoint.  I can't say the same for the book as a unit, though.

I got this book from...:The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

The Book of Luke

The Book of Luke
written by Jenny O'Connell



This is the kind of thing that gives YA a bad name.  There's novels out there with realistic portrayals of intelligent, mature, rational teenagers...and there's this.  Can we just have some more books out there that tell you how to be a decent person, rather than being negativistic 'this is exactly the opposite of what you should do' books?  Most, if not all, of the problems in this book could have been solved with a nice dose of communication.  Which, granted, many teenagers struggle with...so maybe we could write a book about that instead of perpetuating senseless drama that could be easily resolved otherwise.  I don't have much more to say.  I was disappointed in this book and glad to have it off my shelf.

Rating; 1/5