More Than This

Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Walker Books
First Published: May 1, 2014
480 pages (paperback)

Um, so, this is one of those weird situations where I'm done reading the book and I thought it was just okay. Then I go on Goodreads and see everyone and their mom and dog LOVES this novel and has given it 4 or 5 stars. Everyone's reviews are just gushing about how this book is the best thing since sliced bread. It has won freaking awards! And I just thought it was okay??? I mean, did we read the same novel? I usually have the same opinion as the masses (not really a hipster or anything), so I don't know what happened here. But I wasn't really as impressed as everyone else.

Okay, so what is MORE THAN THIS about? Well, this is the kind of novel where I can't tell you too much about what it's about because it'll actually probably just ruin the story. 99% of the fun of this book is finding out, little by little, what the heck is happening. Still, I will make an attempt. A boy wakes up in a seemingly random location. He has very little memory as to what has happened to him and he's pretty much naked. The only thing he knows for sure is that his name is Seth.

Seth wanders around this strange world that doesn't have anybody else in it. He seems to be the only person alive in the whole world. And the world seems like it has gone through an apocalypse or something; everything abandoned and dusty. He gets flashbacks of his life, his regular life, where he lived with his mom, dad and brother Owen in America. He remembers his friends and how they pulled stupid pranks together. But he doesn't know where he is now or what's happening. He begins to suspect that he's in hell, that this is the world after death. But surely there's more to this world than this endless wandering?

My first Patrick Ness novel was his most recent, THE REST OF US JUST LIVE HERE. I also thought that was just ok. I decided to try this one specifically because it got so many rave reviews. You see, I really want to like Patrick Ness' novels. I've heard so many great things about him, I want to join in on the fun! What the heck happened? Did something go whoosh over my head? I don't know. I totally understand the story, I don't think it's a matter of me not "getting" anything. People say this book is moving. But I didn't feel anything even close to being moved at all.

For the first third of the novel or something, Seth is literally alone. And don't get me wrong, Patrick Ness is a terrific writer, absolutely! However, the first third was pretty dull. I did like slowly discovering the world with Seth, but to be honest, he discovered everything a bit too slow for my tastes. The book later got interesting when the other characters entered the plot. Then there was the discovery of what's really happening (hint hint, it's kind of like The Matrix) and that got more interesting. But when I reached the end of the novel, I was just like, "That's it? This is the novel that got so many people in love with it?" I understand the story, but I don't get why people love it.

I think there's supposed to be something inspirational and hopeful about this story. But because it's science fiction and the fact that I didn't find the Matrix-style plot all that relateable, I guess the effect was lost on me.

I guess for the majority of the book, I kept thinking that there will be 'more than this' to MORE THAN THIS, hahaha. Lame jokes. It's not that this was a bad book. I guess I just got way too hyped up over it, and you know, I don't think this kind of novel is my cup of tea at all.

Should I just give up on Patrick Ness?? Maybe he and I just don't mesh. I don't know. We'll see ...

My Rating:

The Girl In The Spider's Web

Author: David Lagercrantz
Creator: Stieg Larsson
Translator: George Goulding
First Published: September 1, 2015
Series: Millennium #4
400 pages (hardcover)

I was kind of avoiding this book at first because it's not really by Stieg Larsson (who has passed away, sadly). I know this book was written based off of Larsson's extensive notes for future books in the series, so it's sort of by him, but not really. I don't know. Then one day, I saw it in the bookstore. I just decided, whatever. I'm going to read it anyway.

So in this fourth book, Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander are baaaack. Sort of. Not together though. For like 99% of the book, they don't actually meet up, but they are in contact with one another.

Blomkvist gets a phone call one night from Frans Balder, a man who claims to have very important, scandalous information regarding a recent hacking job done to the American NSA organization. What makes Blomkvist interested is that the mysterious hacker sounds an awful lot like his old pal Lisbeth. But just as Blomkvist arrives at Balder's house, Balder is brutally murdered. The only witness is Balder's young son August, who was spared because he's autistic and mute. The murderer figures such a child is not going to be able to be a witness for the police anyway, and as the murderer does not really want to kill a child, he leaves him be.

Unbeknownst to the murderer, August is a savant. He has incredible photographic memory and is able to draw perfect, masterful drawings of scenes he has seen. Somehow, this information gets back around to the murderer, who is now understandably regretful that he let August live, as the police are now trying to get August to draw the murderer. It's up to Blomkvist and Lisbeth to step in and protect August, while at the same time figure out what it is that Balder wanted to expose about the NSA.

This book wasn't bad at all. I think this author tried very hard to mimic Stieg Larsson's writing and storytelling style, and in my opinion, he did a pretty good job. I didn't feel like any of the characters were "off" from the original or anything. Blomkvist felt like Blomkvist; Lisbeth was as badass as ever.

With the above said, this fourth book wasn't as great as the first three. I can't really pinpoint why. I mean, the story was interesting and since it was written based off of Stieg Larsson's notes, this story certainly felt like it belonged in the Millennium world. But I don't know if it's the fact that I know it's not written by Larsson or what (which I know is very unfair to this author). It just didn't captivate me in the same way the first three books did.

Maybe it's because Lisbeth seemed like a ... minor character in this book. I mean, it says right on the cover, A LISBETH SALANDER NOVEL. And yet, she's actually more a side character. Maybe that's why I didn't feel like this book lived up to the first three.

Anyway, it was a decent novel over all. It didn't have the power oomph that the first three did, but I liked it.

My Rating:

Perfect Scoundrels

Author: Ally Carter
First Published: February 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Series: Heist Society #3
349 pages (paperback)

I love the Heist Society series, and I'm ashamed to say, I didn't realize book three had been out for so long already. I didn't really remember a lot of the details of books one and two, so I spent a whole day re-reading Heist Society and Uncommon Criminals (which are still as fabulous and fun to read as ever) to prep myself for Perfect Scoundrels.

Perfect Scoundrels was a brilliant read, but it was definitely different from the first two books. The first two books had memorable, huge heists. The Henley job. The Cleopatra Emerald job. But in this book, I don't think there was a true heist, though of course, there's a lot of conning and thieving still. In book three, things get personal.

The story begins with Hale unexpectedly discovering that his beloved grandmother, Hazel, has died. To his (and everyone's) surprise, her will states that Hale Industries will be left entirely to Hale, with the family lawyer, Mr. Garrett, as the trustee until Hale becomes of age. As Hale copes with the loss of his grandmother and his new role as the CEO of a mega-corporation, Kat makes a startling discovery: Hazel's will was forged!

Kat's put in an awkward position. How is she supposed to tell her maybe-boyfriend that he might not actually be the CEO? That somebody is using him?

With the help of her usual crew, Kat tries to find the real will without alerting Hale's suspicions. The search leads to a much larger mission where the entirety of Hale Industries is at stake. One wrong move and Kat and her entire thieving family may also be exposed to the world for what they really are.

I personally feel that this story was less heist-y than the previous two. It was more like a mystery novel to me. Not that that's a terrible thing; I actually really enjoyed this book and it's sort of nice to have a different experience from the typical big heist stories. Also, Hale. My favourite fictional character ... heh. Enough said about that.

This book expanded on Kat and Hale's relationship much more, and each one as individual characters. Kat's not sure if the two of them are a couple or not for a majority of the story, but by the end, Kat and Hale have reached a firm conclusion on their relationship status. I really love how it took them three books to figure out whether or not they want to be with one another. In a lot of YA novels, the leading female and male just to get together way too quickly, way too much in love too fast. Usually it's unbelievable. But Kat and Hale's relationship is just perfect to me. Nothing too cheesy, nothing too quick.

I also loved how this third book finally brought Kat's entire family into the spotlight more. You know, in the first two books, you hear a lot about how the rest of the family are infamous thieves, legends even. But it's not until this third book that you see them in action. Really, it's quite touching, everyone banding together for one of their own. Oh I know, Hale is not really related to any of them by blood, but as the character reiterate over and over again, Hale's a part of their world; he is family. And yes, he also happens to fund a lot of their thieving adventures, but that's besides the point, haha.

As for the actual plot, like I said, this was not a true heist story in my opinion, but I did like the mystery and the chase. There's a lot more conning in this book, which is always fun. And the Henley makes a brief cameo again, haha. I was mildly disappointed that they didn't steal anything in this book, because that's what I've come to associate the Heist Society series with, but overall, I'm very satisfied. A fun, fast read.

Now I must go catch up with the rest of Ally Carter's books ... apparently she's also released an entirely new series while I was, I don't know, hiding under a rock or something.

My Rating:

Finding Audrey

Author: Sophie Kinsella
First Published: June 2015
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
288 pages (hardcover)

I love the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella (even though I haven't read them all, and the ones I have read, I read out of order, haha). So, when I saw this YA book by Sophie Kinsella, I was very interested in giving it a try. I ended up loving this book, though I am glad it is a stand-alone novel because I feel the story is stronger that way.

What is this story about? It is about a young teen named Audrey. Audrey has a diagnosed anxiety disorder. It all happened after an "event" happened at school. The book is in first person, and Audrey never feels comfortable enough to explain what the "event" was that triggered this anxiety; however, she provides enough hints and clues that you get a vague idea that she was bullied and humiliated in school. I really wish the book would just explain exactly what happened so I'm not left just guessing, but I guess since it is narrated by Audrey, it makes sense that she wouldn't want to talk about it.

Audrey has temporarily withdrawn from school and spends the vast majority of her time at home, venturing out only for her therapy sessions. She constantly wears a pair of sunglasses/dark shades, as the darkness makes it easier for her to cope with people. She has switched schools and will be re-doing her previous grade, since she has missed so much school. Audrey feels safe at home with her family, who are a collection of memorable characters themselves. Her mother is a bit of a helicopter parent but does her best to care for Audrey; her father kind of just does whatever the mom tells him to do and her brother, Frank, mostly keeps to himself but still cares about Audrey in his own way.

Audrey's brother, Frank, is a video gamer who is planning to enter a video game competition (the game he is playing is called Land of Conquerors or something like that, but it all sounds an awful lot like the game League of Legends, heh). It's a team computer game, and Frank invites his teammate Linus over to their house to practice the game. Audrey is initially freaked out about Linus being in their house. Linus is curious about Frank's sister, who is constantly hiding and wear dark shades over her eyes all the time. Carefully, he reaches out to her and gets to know her. Audrey finds herself wanting to see Linus more and more, but her anxiety prevents her from having a normal relationship.

This book is short, and I found it to be a very fast and very fun read. Despite the seriousness of having an anxiety disorder, this book is also very humorous because of Audrey's mother. Omigawd, Audrey's mother is something else ... Hopefully you have heard of the term helicopter parent, because that is what she is. Sophie Kinsella has really got the overbearing parent character down pat. Honestly, with a mom like that, it's not that surprising that Audrey is having a hard time dealing with her anxiety, because her mom babies her and treats Audrey like glass. Her mom is also a little gulliable/naive; Audrey points out that her mother believes everything she reads, which leads to some big fights in the house (for example, Audrey's mom thinks screens (cellphones, TV, computers, etc) are killing their brains and tries to ban them, which Frank, obviously, will not tolerate). Audrey's mom is a terribly annoying character, but in a good, well written way.

The other character that I want to give some kudos to is Linus. Or maybe I mean Linus and Audrey together. Linus is a lot like your typical teenage boy at first, but when he is around Audrey, he is just so darn nice and patient with her. I can totally see why Audrey would start liking him (which causes all sorts of internal strife for poor Audrey). And the way Linus gave Audrey her "first kiss" and said his first "I love you" was SO cute, my heart wanted to explode. I don't want to give away what happens in those scenes but it was so stupidly cute.

The thing I don't really understand as well is why the heck does Linus like Audrey? I totally see why Audrey would like Linus, but what Linus sees in Audrey, at least when they initially meet, is never understood by me. She's a reclusive young girl who constantly wears sunglasses indoors and scurries away whenever she sees Linus. Is that ... attractive to him? Who knows?

I loved this book a lot and definitely recommend it, especially if you are looking for something light and easy to speed through ;)

My Rating: 5/5

Scarlet

Author: Marissa Meyer
First Published: February 2013
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
452 pages (hardcover)

So, in 2011, I read the book Cinder, which is the first book in the series. I loved it, and knew I was going to read the rest of the series. But then, as it usually happens, the wait between installments causes me to forget (because I'm not very good at keeping up with book news). I was recently reminded of this series when I saw the fourth (and final!) book in bookstores and I thought, "Oh my gawd, the last book is already out?!"

So it's been 4 years and my memory is a little hazy on what happened in Cinder, but I still found Scarlet very enjoyable to read. I wonder if I would have liked it more if I read them back to back?

I did not know the Lunar Chronicles features a different fairy tale heroine in each installment. I think this is an awesome idea! In this second book in the series, the new fairy tale heroine featured is Little Red Riding Hood. Cinder (as in, Cinderella), the cyborg mechanic from the first book, is still a main character.

Scarlet begins with 18 year old Scarlet who is looking for her lost grandmother. Her grandmother has been missing for the past two weeks and the police don't seem to care. A chance meeting with a mysterious street fighter named Wolf brings her closer to locating her beloved grandmother. Wolf appears to know more about the whereabouts of Scarlet's grandmother than he is letting on. As Scarlet and Wolf investigate the disappearance together, Scarlet realizes that whoever took her grandmother, took her because her grandmother knows about the true identity of the missing Lunar princess, Selene.

In the meantime, Cinder is stuck in prison due to the events that happened in the first book. Reluctantly resorting to her Lunar capabilities of mind control, Cinder escapes with fellow prisoner Captain Thorne, a devilishly handsome rogue of a man who just so happens to own a large cargo spaceship. But escaping is just the beginning -- the entire world is looking for her, because the Queen of Luna, Levana, is furious that Cinder has ran away. If Cinder is not found in time, Queen Levana is threatening to war against the entire Earth.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Wonderfully written and a nicely paced story. A lot of my liking has to do with the fact that I am just a sucker for fairy tale retellings. I love this series because it is just by far one of the most imaginative fairy tale retellings I've encountered in my 'travels' (in the book world) so far. I mean, sci-fi fairy tales?! It sounds crazy but it works in this series.

Also, Little Red Riding Hood is not a fairy tale that usually gets the novelization treatment. There's tons of Cinderella retellings, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, etc. but LRRH is, I suppose, too short of a tale to flesh out into a whole novel. Well, I guess it's true, it IS a short fairy tale. But Marissa Meyer found a way to incorporate LRRH into the existing Lunar Chronicles world, and I just loved the way it all fit together.

If I may have a complaint though, it did bug me a bit how Scarlet and Cinder's paths didn't cross until near the end of the novel. It's a bit like reading two separate stories until that point. You have all the stuff that's happening with Scarlet and all the stuff that's happening with Cinder, and for a long time, I didn't even think the two characters were going to meet. They do, eventually, of course, but it was pretty darn near the end. Just a small complaint, I think if they could have met earlier it would have been fantastic.

Anyway, if you enjoyed the first Lunar Chronicle book, I am sure you will also like book two. I am really looking forward to the third book, Cress, which apparently features Rapunzel! And the fourth and final book, Winter, that was just released a few days ago, which features Snow White. Exciting stuff!

My Rating: 4/5

Insurrection

Author: Robyn Young
First Published: June 2012
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Series: Insurrection #1
650 pages (paperback)

This is one of those books that have been sitting on my bookshelf forever and I finally got around to reading it. I have been trying to read less historical fiction lately because I totally burned myself out on that genre. But, I thought, it's been a while since I read a his-fic, so let's give this one a go. This one if pretty different from my usual his-fic anyway (British, queens/princesses as main characters, time period of usually 1500-1700's ...)  I'm so glad I did because this was an amazing book. And to think I had this diamond of a novel just sitting on my shelf, unread!

Insurrection starts with King Alexander of Scotland dying in an unfortunate accident during a particularly bad storm. The throne of Scotland is open and now the Scottish nobles fight over who should rule, as Alexander has no heirs. Robert is just a child in the beginning. Robert's grandfather, a respected Bruce, tells Robert that another king, long ago, made him the heir should he die with no heirs. Robert's grandfather holds on to this in his bid for the throne, and tells young Robert that it is their family's destiny to have one of them become the King of Scotland one day.

The new king is chosen by the King of England, Edward, who acted as a guardian of Scotland while the throne was empty, and it is not any of the Bruces. Because the king was chosen by Edward, Edward enjoyed a lot of power in the Scottish kingdom, especially since he chose someone that was very malleable. You see, Edward has his own mission: he is working on conquering or taking over all the kingdoms of Britain, to unite them. To do so, he is searching for four relics, one in each of the four kingdoms -- Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England. He believes once he has the four relics and has united the four kingdoms, he may be able to avoid the doom prophesied by Merlin ages ago. Edward has already taken over Wales, and is working on Ireland and Scotland.

Seeing that Edward has the most power in Scotland at this point in time, Robert's greedy father sends Robert and his brother (also named Edward) to England to serve King Edward for a time, and also look over their English lands. Robert grows close to many of the young nobles his age there. So close, in fact, they invite him to join the Knights of the Dragon, which is pretty much a secret club ran by King Edward who helps the king hunt down the relics.

Robert was never fully understanding of the Knights of the Dragon's purpose but was pleased to have become a trusted friend of the King's and of the other English nobles. However, when he realizes Edward is turning his sights to Scotland, capturing the Scottish king and invading the kingdom, Robert feels conflicted. He eventually decides to go back to Scotland, his home, and fight with the Scottish people against King Edward's invasion. The Scottish are suspicious of him, given that he's spent so many long years in King Edward's court and was rumored to be a very close friend to the king and his nobles. The English are furious of Robert, declaring him a traitor. The Scottish throne still sits empty. Robert remembers his grandfather telling him it is their family's destiny to become the King ...

Everything about this book was so good! The author, Robyn Jones, is a seasoned historical fiction writer. She writes very well, no question about that. She's spent a lot of time researching  for this book and it shows. I love how at the end of the book, in the Author's Note section, she talks about the differences between her book and the real events that happened (because, of course, this is historical fiction and there's bound to be some made-up stuff for the sake of storytelling). I love a his-fic novel that doesn't have too many liberties taken with it, and I felt Robyn Young did a great job balancing history with fictional ideas. Most of the fictional parts were just toying around with the timelines (certain events happened earlier or later than in real life), I think.

What was particularly exciting about this novel was the fact I knew nothing about Scottish history. Nada. I had no idea who Robert Bruce was going into this book. Absolutely everything was new information to me and I think that's what made this book even more interesting to read. (But after I finished, I was so desperate to know what happens later in the trilogy, I Wikipedia'd Robert Bruce ... -_- I'm sure I'll still be in love with books 2 and 3 though, even with the knowledge of what happens later).

There's a lot of action packed scenes in this book. Many, if not most, of the battles and wars fought place the reader directly in the action. I, personally, am not the biggest fan of reading battle scenes. Reading about how this knight swung his sword high and that knight jabbed someone else through their mail or whatever, has always been rather dull to me. If you love battle/fight scenes that are detailed out to you, you will definitely enjoy this book. I'm not squeamish or anything, I just don't find reading about action sequences all that thrilling. That would be my only complaint, and even then, it is a complaint that I know most other people will not have.

If you are looking for a well thought out, brilliantly written historical novel, look no further. I will most definitely be reading the rest of this series!

My Rating: 5/5

Red Queen

Author: Victoria Aveyard
First Published: February 2010
Publisher: Orion
Series: Red Queen #1
383 pages (hardcover)

I'm kind of conflicted about how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I really wanted to like it; on the other hand, it didn't blow me away and was pretty unoriginal and predictable. Yet, when I finished, I wanted to read more. What?

Here's the lowdown: Mare Barrow is a Red -- an ordinary human who bleeds red blood. She lives in her little village called the Stilts, serving the noble Silvers, who are extraordinary humans with unique abilities (controlling fire, water, metal, reading minds, incredible strength, etc.) and they bleed silver blood. Mare despises the power imbalance between the Reds and Silvers. Especially with the never-ending war going on between their kingdom of Norta and other kingdoms, Reds are getting slaughtered by the thousands on the fields while Silvers command, safely far away from the battlefield.

Mare finds out she is going to be conscripted to the army soon. Desperate to get out of this predicament, she tries to get some smugglers to, you know, smuggle her out of the country. However, the price is very, very expensive. Mare doesn't have that much money. Her life is suddenly turned around though, when a chance meeting with a stranger winds up with her having a cushy (relatively speaking) job at the palace serving the royal family.

During the Queenstrial, in which the heir to the throne, Prince Cal, is to select his future wife, an accident happens in which Mare finds herself thrust into the spotlight in front of the most royal and noble Silver families in the kingdom, and she unleashes lightning and electric abilities she never knew she had. This is absolutely shocking to everyone because she's a Red and Reds aren't supposed to have any special abilities.

The royal family freaks out and makes up a cover story for Mare, saying she's a long lost Silver noble who has lived her entire life thinking she is a Red. For some reason, they decide she should be betrothed to the younger Prince, Maven (something about keeping a close eye on her)? Mare now is trying to live amongst the Silvers as one of their own. During all this, a rebellion called the Scarlet Guard is becoming a threat to the kingdom and of course, Mare finds herself caught up in that mess as well.

This book is like a mixture of a bunch of other books, and thus, I did not find anything original in it. We have some Hunger Games vibes, what with Mare shaping up to be the face of the rebellion a la Mockingjay style; some Pokemon or X-Men style abilities; Game of Thrones kind of world; and though I've never read Red Rising, I heard it's almost exactly the same story; and The Selection with their way of choosing a Queen. This story has NOTHING original about it. It's all bits and pieces of other stories sewn together. That's probably why it felt like there's some gaping plot-holes in the story.

The characters are very one-dimensional and suffer from a few overused YA tropes. Mare is a Special Snowflake, the "chosen one" to end a rebellion in an oppresive society -- definitely seen that before. There's also nothing likable about her -- she's stubborn, rude and not a nice person -- yet boys are falling for her left, right and center. Of course. We have the male leads who are all coincidentally gorgeous and perfect. And all the villains are absolutely villain-y. Like, are they even real people? They're always smirking and cackling with laughter that their evil schemes are going as planned. You know, evil people generally don't know they're evil ... Everyone in this book was just so cartoonish.

And yet.

Despite all my complaints and whinings, I kind of look forward to the next book. Seriously, I don't know why. Well, maybe I know why. I love all the elements of other books I mentioned above like Game of Thrones and whatnot. I like the pieces. I'm just not sure I like the way they were put together in Red Queen. But I want to keep reading, which is kind of weird. I'm pretty sure I'll know how the rest of this series will pan out though, because Red Queen is severely lacking in originality. Bet next book, which will slow down a lot in terms of pace, they're going to delve deeper in the Scarlet Guard organization and hunker down in the SG headquarters plotting stuff, and it'll be in the third book when they actually do anything.

Anyway, I'm not eagerly awaiting for the sequel, but I am awaiting it, haha.

My Rating: 2.5/5

The Rest Of Us Just Live Here

Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Harper Teen
First Published: August 2015
336 pages (hardcover)

This book has probably one of the most unique ideas I've come across. You know how in a lot of teen novels, the main character(s) are the 'chosen ones' to put an end to a terrible evil? Or they are the special snowflakes (female characters specifically) who get caught in cheesy love triangles and the girl just doesn't realize how beautiful and special she is? And so on ... Well, this is a book not about those main characters. Yes, they are in this book, saving the world and falling in love with impossibly handsome boys, but this book is about the peripheral characters. You know, just random people who the main characters might have seen on a bus ride or something. The characters who just live in that world.

Something paranormal is happening in the world, with the Immortals capturing human vessels in an attempt to take over the earth. The indie kids are all wrapped up in the latest plot, trying to save the world. But for non indie kids like Mikey, Mel, Jared and Henna, their biggest problem is not trying to overthrow the Queen of Immortals, but rather, dealing with the reality of finally graduating high school and going their separate ways after.

This is a story about the problems of humans without supernatural abilities ... i.e. everyone else. Mikey is in love with Henna but doesn't know how to tell her. He and his best friend Jared are planning to attend separate colleges two states away. His mom is running for a political position and not really paying enough attention to her children while Mikey's dad is a semi-functioning alcoholic. The stress of everything is triggering Mikey's obsessive-compulsive behaviours to return, a demon he thought he defeated long ago. He's washing his hands repeatedly again, until his skin is cracked and bleeding. He's meticulously counting objects. He's constantly checking and rechecking that he locked the door properly, although he couldn't tell you what 'properly' means to him. He feels like he's falling apart.

And yes, in the mean time, indie kids are dying and traveling between worlds to overthrow the Immortals, which are probably bigger problems, but these are Mikey's problems and this is his reality.

I have to admit, I was initially very confused by this book. I made it to chapter 6 or something like that before I felt I had to go online and do some minor research into this book. Afterwards, I restarted the book and everything made sense again. I didn't know what the book meant by 'indie' kids initially (I thought indie = independent?? But the book's definition is basically 'special snowflake'). And each chapter started with a short paragraph on what the indie kids were up to in their quest to defeat the Immortals, but I didn't realize that that's what the chapter openers were about so I was just puzzled. Once you understand the structure though, it all makes sense.

I've heard of lots of great things about Patrick Ness and I think I have a whole bunch of his books on my mental "I want to read" list. This is the very first Patrick Ness book I actually got around to reading though, probably because it's his newest and was easiest to find at bookstores at this point in time.

The book is very much a coming-of-age novel and I loved the unique spin on the characters by making them "minor characters". It's understanding that, yeah, there are bigger problems in the world out there, but my problems are my reality and this is what I'm trying to deal with. 'Ordinary people' problems, if you will. Mikey and the rest of his friends all felt so genuine and young and innocent. It's a book that I think young adults/teenagers will easily feel related to.

While I did enjoy reading this book, at the same time, it did not wow me. I mean, we are talking about the mundane problems of teenagers here. After I finished reading this book, I skimmed through some reviews and some people felt this was not the greatest "first Patrick Ness novel" to be introduced to. I'm inclined to agree, probably; but I am sure I will continue trying other books of this author's.

My Rating: 2/5