Book Review: Mortal Danger (Immortal Game #1) by Anne Aguire

Summary: 
Edie Kramer has a score to settle with the beautiful people at Blackbriar Academy. Their cruelty drove her to the brink of despair, and four months ago, she couldn't imagine being strong enough to face her senior year. But thanks to a Faustian compact with the enigmatic Kian, she has the power to make the bullies pay. She's not supposed to think about Kian once the deal is done, but devastating pain burns behind his unearthly beauty, and he's impossible to forget.

In one short summer, her entire life changes, and she sweeps through Blackbriar, prepped to take the beautiful people down from the inside. A whisper here, a look there, and suddenly... bad things are happening. It's a heady rush, seeing her tormentors get what they deserve, but things that seem too good to be true usually are, and soon, the pranks and payback turns from delicious to deadly. Edie is alone in a world teeming with secrets and fiends lurking in the shadows. In this murky morass of devil's bargains, she isn't sure who—or what--she can trust. Not even her own mind...

Release Date: August 2014

Age Group: YA

Source: Review Copy from Publisher

Reviewed By: Ms. Leger

Review:

So, right off I noticed the theme of bullying. A smart, brainy, unattractive high school girl attending a preppy private school who gets viciously teased by the rich "teflon" group. I was immediately vested in the book because I could relate to the feelings and motions she went through, I've seen it time and time again with students and it had a creepy feel to it.

What I really liked was the twist. Edie gets 3 wishes to get even. I tell my own kids and students to be careful what you wish for because it may not turn out the way you wanted. I really enjoyed Edie's thought process and often caught myself having the same doubting thoughts she did. 

There was anger, revenge, deceit and doubt all wrapped into a single bargain and what a ride it was! I never lost interest and would consider this book a really good paranormal YA. I look forward to 2nd in the series.

Ms. Leger

*image source: goodreads.com

Book Review: Fearless Frosty by Chloe Chick (Sisu Girls)

Summary:
Fearless Frosty tells the tale of New Zealander Anna Frost and how she chased her dream to become a professional mountain runner.

"Whatever it is, go after it.
Find the thing that makes you fly!
Because one thing is for certain:
You'll never know unless you try."   

Fearless Frosty is the first book in our collection of stories about fearless females.









Release Date: June 2015
Age Group: Children, Middle Grade, Girls
Source: Purchased
Reviewed By: Nat

Review:
I actually came across this book on my 10 year old daughters instagram. Yes, you read that right, my 10 year old. She has had one since she was 8 and it is trolled by her helicopter parents. She is a skateboarder and long story short, we felt that social media would actually help to inspire and motivate her. Her feed is filled with female athletes and friends that she has made through her sport. One of the groups that she follows are the Sisu Girls.

SisuGirls is a global movement encouraging girls to step into themselves through sport and adventure. Sisu is a Finnish term for determination, bravery and resilience. We want all girls to have the self-belief and conviction to try new things, the tenacity to endure, and the bravery to push boundaries. We want girls to discover the outdoors, adventure and sports. Not always to compete, but to be involved, be active and most importantly to learn about themselves and others. We want girls to develop strong foundations of confidence, so they have the self-belief to follow their dreams, with sisu.

When I saw that Sisu was going to start a series of books based on actual women in action-adventure sports, I knew I would be exercising my paypal skills. I was really impressed with the actual book itself, it is such a nice hardback and the author Chloe even signed it.

I read it first and really liked the illustrations and knew my boys would probably like it and they did. My daughter read it next and had a lot of questions about mountain running. Which made me have questions too, so we did what we do best... we googled it. But the really cool result of this book was listening to her talk about what she was going to accomplish in skateboarding! And then we just sat and talked about how cool it would be if she had a book about her one day. :)

We.Sat.And.Talked.  <--- #winning

Anything that gets a tween or teen to open up and reflect is a real winner. Overall, it was just really neat to sit and listen to her talk about her dreams, her plans and to know that each one is possible.

If anything this book is a motivator for young girls and is also a fun read for all kids in general! So support the Sisu Girls and buy this book! Go HERE 

Read more about the Sisu Girls HERE.
Follow on instagram HERE.

image sources: goodreads.com & sisugirls.org

Book Review: The Last Girl (The Dominion Trilogy #1) by Joe Hart

Summary:

A mysterious worldwide epidemic reduces the birthrate of female infants from 50 percent to less than 1 percent. Medical science and governments around the world scramble in an effort to solve the problem, but twenty-five years later there is no cure, and an entire generation grows up with a population of fewer than a thousand women.
Zoey and some of the surviving young women are housed in a scientific research compound dedicated to determining the cause. For two decades, she’s been isolated from her family, treated as a test subject, and locked away—told only that the virus has wiped out the rest of the world’s population.
Captivity is the only life Zoey has ever known, and escaping her heavily armed captors is no easy task, but she’s determined to leave before she is subjected to the next round of tests…a program that no other woman has ever returned from. Even if she’s successful, Zoey has no idea what she’ll encounter in the strange new world beyond the facility’s walls. Winning her freedom will take brutality she never imagined she possessed, as well as all her strength and cunning—but Zoey is ready for war.

Release Date: March 2016

Age Group: YA, Dystopian

Source: Review copy from publisher

Reviewed By: Nat

Review:

I am always down for a nice, twisted dystopian but what really caught my interest with The Last Girl was the medical/science theme. Sadly this is what also drove me insane. 

Dystopian lit is either original or not. I've read so many that are "cookie-cutters" and unoriginal but  The Last Girl was unique. The idea of a virus wiping out the female race is just so creepy. I was interested to see just how feral the world (men) would become with the absence of women. 

The main character Zoey was a little hard to relate with because of #instalove and her #instaGIJane antics. I mean, I'm sure if I were faced with a life or death situation I would instantly become a psycho-ninja but I would have no idea how to load or aim a gun. And 'ol Zoey, who came from a completely controlled compound, just busted out her marine moves and shot.

Oddly enough, I really liked the mean girls best because I understood their anger and closed-minded thought process.  And I really wanted to choke the teacher. #thefeels May not be the best kind but still- these characters were just better developed.

Overall, Hart did a nice job of setting the stage but I still have so many questions. Which is typical for a first book in a series. But the one question that I just couldn't let go of was the basis of the story THE GIRL. 

Basic science tells us that men (sperm) have the final decision in gender selection. So why is this advanced, crumbling society focusing on the last few girls?  What I am hoping is that book two will really drop a few bombshells and give this world a little more focus and direction. Right now I feel like I have started a book, got halfway through and then had to return it to the library and wait my turn to finish!

I think there is potential for The Dominion Trilogy and I hope Mr. Hart brings it in book two! It is a very fast read and would easily be liked by teens.

 image source: goodreads.com

A Tribute to Mama

Happy Mother's Day!

A tribute to all the Mama's out there who keep it real. #iseeyou

Book to Movie to TV Series Review: The Mortal Instruments (Season 1)

Summary: On her birthday, Clary Fray discovers a surprise concerning her life. The teenager is not who she thinks she is -- she comes from a long line of human-angel hybrids, called Shadowhunters, who hunt demons. After her mother is kidnapped, Clary is thrust into the world of demon-hunting. Clary relies on mysterious Jace and fellow hunters Isabelle and Alec to help her navigate the dark world. While living in this new world among creatures like vampires and werewolves, Clary's best friend Simon helps her uncover answers that could help her find her mother. The fantasy show is based on a series of young adult books by Cassandra Clare.

I have to say this is a first for me, a Book to Movie to TV Series Review. When Cassandra Clare was writing The Mortal Instruments series we were SO into it! I even traveled to a book signing to meet her (and her rocking purple hair). When the series concluded she dropped two bombshells: 1. it would be extended and 2. there was a movie adaptation in the works. Those two surprises for book lovers are equivalent to winning the lottery. In short, I (and all human-kind) were winning.

Then the last two installments rolled out followed by the movie. I really enjoyed the series and the world that Clare created. I still think it is one of the best YA worlds imagined. With that said, I was so freaking pumped about the movie-- like Twilight excited. BUUUUUTTTTTT... the movie sucked.

I don't mean to be mean, really. The storyline was true to the series and the graphics were fantastic but the actors really killed it for me. I kept thinking of the Volturi when I looked at Jace (Jamie Campbell Bower) and he was just too skinny. I don't know what else to say, I just didn't like it. BUT I still bought that sucker on DVD and supported my fellow YA cronies {my grassroots efforts to keep the YA adaptations flowing}.

So, when I heard that there was a TV series in the works for TMI I was automatically interested. 

Why? 

Because a TV series format can really work out some of the storyline and plot twists in books better than a movie. Case in point, The Vampire Diaries --> the books were terrible. The series (and its spin-off The Originals) are the BEST. VAMPIRE. SERIES. EVER. 

I knew I had to give TMI series a fair shot.

I had to prepare. 

I had to inspect the cast. 

  *Katherine McNamara who plays Clary has been a frequent on several of the Disney shows that my kids love so I was really excited to see a familiar face. Plus I knew she could do weird. #thehauntinghour

Watch the trailers. 

And record the first 4 episodes {see #SHOWHOLE post for explanation}. 

After watching the pilot episode I was on the fence. It was like watching the Vampire Academy Movie with regard to the acting. And then it HIT ME! I looked up my review of VA: Blood Sisters and low and behold who played Christian Ozara --> Dominic Sherwood aka "The new Jace".  He was my favorite of that whole movie adaptation. 

In my best Yoda voice I thought Press Forward You Must.

13 episodes later (season 1) and I'm hooked! It's creepy, clever and even witty. I love all the characters, they all fit what I imagined while reading the series. With one exception, Alec, he is even better looking than I imagined. It made me realize how much I missed Magnus Bane. He is just so fluffy and wise.

There is so much potential for plot twists while still staying true to the series Clare created. So far, I like the changes made and am currently suffering through what I like to call The Star Wars dilemma that Clare so kindly bestowed on us mere mortals. All in all the series ended on a high and has just been given a green light for season 2! 

My final parting words are simple.

Go now and watch. Watch them all. 

Binge on my friends! As always, binge responsibly.

If you're a #Newb and none of this makes sense go HERE.
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