Guest Review: Candor by Pam Bachorz

Title: Candor

Author: Pam Bachorz

Publisher: Egmont Books

Publication Date: 2 Aug 2010

Synopsis from Goodreads

Oscar Banks has everything under control. In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, he's found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages. He's got them all fooled: Oscar's the top student and the best-behaved teen in town. Nobody knows he's made his own Messages to deprogram his brain. Oscar has even found a way to get rich. For a hefty price, he helps new kids escape Candor, Florida before they're transformed into cookie-cutter teens. But then Nia Silva moves to Candor, and Oscar's carefully-controlled world crumbles.

The town of Candor is absolutely perfect, there is no vandalism, no trouble, everyone behaves impeccably. Yet Candor is not what it seems to be; there are encrypted messages hidden in the music, used to control people. Oscar Banks is the owners son, he know how to stop the messages but something is holding him back. When, a new girl Nia Silva, arrives in town, Oscars life changes, he needs to finally make that decision: does he let her become another perfect citizen controlled by the music or does he risk everything to let her be herself.

The story is focused around Oscar and Nia, deceiving everyone around them into believing that they too are controlled by the messages embedded into the music, in the hope that they can save their identity and escape from the grasp that the messages In Candor have them locked in.Nia is my favorite character as she is reckless and daring. She does what is necessary to be free of the controlling messages. She is courageous and has the inner strength to survive Candor. Although there is also a sensitive side to Nia and she accepts Oscar for who he really is rather than the 'perfect' drone he portrayed.

My favorite part of the book was when Nia and Oscar went outside by the pool. They were finally open and honest with each other, reveling the truth about themselves and deepening their relationship. Confiding in each other as they haven't been able to with anyone else. Enabling them to forget their worries for a short time and life in the moment. However, I have to say that the ending really spoiled the whole story for me. I really would have liked to see an alternative ending. I also found Sherman rather annoying but I think if he hadn't been portrayed in this fashion the book may not have been so interesting.

This book is definitely worth reading even if the ending wasn't to my personal liking. I found it interesting and exciting throughout but really would have preferred an alternative ending. 

MG Monday: Guest Mini Review: TroubleTwisters by Garth Nix and Sean Williams

Title: TroubleTwisters
Series: TroubleTwisters
Author: Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Publisher: Egmont
Publication Date: 6 June 2011

Synopsis from Amazon

Twin siblings Jack and Jaide discover they are pivotal to a secret supernatural organisation that protects the earth from marauding Evil! Portland might seem like a quiet coastal town, and their grandmother is perhaps no dottier than anyone else's, but it soon becomes apparent that the strange things going on around them are anything BUT ordinary. It's all very well discovering that you suddenly have magical powers, but when you don't know exactly what they are, or how to use them, then facing impending peril doesn't seem like a very good idea at all...

GUEST REVIEW BY KAIN OF LOU AND KAIN'S GAMES AND BOOKS

The Trouble twisters is an invigorating book that keeps you hooked on every page, from the first to the last, one of the best things about this book is the way it’s written. Its written so that it keeps you trying to guess how the hero or heroine gets out of that situation, it also leaves you on the edge of your seat trying to guess what will happen to the main characters.

It’s the first of a series and I look forward to number 2. 

I would rate this book 4 out of 5 for the writing and the story.

Tantalising Trailers: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

I loved Unearthly so Hallowed (Review HERE) has been on my wish-list from the moment I finished it. I am so excited to share the trailer with you.

Title: Hallowed
Series: Unearthly
Author: Cynthia Hand
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Publication Date: 2 Jan 2012

Synopsis from Goodreads

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

SWOOOOON

I cannot wait to read it

MG Monday: Guest Review: Lula Does the Hula by Samantha Macintosh

Title: Lula Does the Hula
Series: Lula #2
Author: Samantha Macintosh
Publisher: Egmont
Publication Date: 6 Jun 2011

Synopsis from Goodreads

Aloha! I'm Talullah Bird - or Tatty, or Lu. But mostly people call me Lula. So, my big news is...I've finally been kissed. Eeeee! I have an actual, factual boyfriend! At least, I thought I did. But things with the perfect boy aren't going to plan - thanks to his journo gal pal, Evil Jazz. And that's not all. Hoooo no. In a few days I've got to dance the hula in public, put a stop to some seriously serious criminal activity, win a race, and stop Dad from shaming me totally with his weirdiness. Frikkly frik! Where is my normal life? Huh? Where? Please, someone, tell me I'm not jinxed forever...Laugh-out-loud funny and gorgeously romantic, Lula Does the Hula is the perfect summer read.

GUEST REVIEW BY BETH

Yay Lula’s back! I was ecstatic when Lula does the Hula landed on my doormat (OK, so I don’t have a dormat but you get the picture) as I really enjoyed reading Kisses for Lula as my first review book for Book Angel Booktopia.

As I’ve said before this stuff isn’t my usual kind of thing but I love Lula and could read her stories all day every day. The best thing about Lula’s stories in the combination of your expected teenage angst with serious and almost gritty detective stories, really great books.

Anyway, back to Lula does the Hula and Lula’s finally been kissed and has the gorgeous Jack de Souza as her boyfriend…or so she thinks. With his journalism career flourishing Jack’s gained a new, adoring fan, his colleague and housemate Jazz. Bad news for Lula as Jazz gets closer to Jack she seems to drift further away and in the back drop of this we have hula dancing (in public), competitive rowing, plenty of blood and some seriously dangerous criminal activity. Nothing new there for Lula, then!

With her strange collection of friends including her massive dog (now accompanied by a feathered friend) and super sleuth OAP Mr. K, Lula’s ventures just get weirder and weirder.

I don’t know how anyone can knock the fun loving and action packed adventures of Lula and her friends and I certainly enjoy them much more than I thought I would. When’s the next one out? 

Guest Review: We Can Be Heroes by Catherine Bruton

Title: We Can Be Heroes
Author: Catherine Bruton
Publisher: Egmont Books
Publication Date: 1 Aug 2011

Synopsis from Amazon

Moving. Funny. Explosive. And most of all, unexpected...As powerful as Frank Cottrell Boyce's Millions. My dad was killed in the 9/11 attacks in New York. But the stuff in this book isn't about that. It's about the summer my mum went away. The summer that me and Jed and Priti tried to catch a suicide bomber and prevent an honour killing. There's stuff about how we built a tree house and joined the bomb squad; how I found my dad and Jed lost his; and how we both lost our mums then found them again. So it's not really about 9/11 but, then again, none of those things would have happened if it hadn't been for that day. So I guess it's all back to front, sort of...

GUEST REVIEW BY BETH OF THE PIECES OF ME 

This is a novel which I’ve seen reviewed on other blogs and liked the sound of so when it turned up on my doorstep I was really pleased. It’s not a small book, in fact I think it’s nearly 500 pages if my memory serves me right but the tone and style given to the narrator make it seem manageable and extremely enjoyable.

Now the story is quite intricate but at no point feels complicated. Our narrator is Ben, he’s twelve years old and his dad was killed in 9/11. He’s found himself staying with his grandparents over summer, joined unhappily by his 14 year old cousin Jed and they soon make friends with the street’s new resident Priti Mohammed. Ben is an avid cartoonist and often turns harsh reality into comic strips, which seems to be his way of handling things.

The summer days are whiled away by their extremely active and evidently childish imaginations. As the story begins to unfold it is possible to see all the pitfalls as a reader but equally possible to imagine a pre-teen thinking in this way. From suspicions that Jed is terminally ill to even more sinister assumptions about Priti’s Muslim family it is easy to see how their imaginations get carried away and lead to more serious consequences.

It’s hard to talk about this novel without giving too much away but I think it can definitely be described as a coming of age story with the three main characters learning new things about themselves and their environments. It deals with race issues, family breakups and some very hard-hitting stuff without taking it out of context. Ben’s ability to turn any situation into a comic strip is particularly powerful as it reaffirms age of the protagonist despite the seriousness of the situations they end up in.

My favourite character by a mile is Priti, she’s absolutely hilarious, witty and a perfect complement to Ben’s quiet nature and Jed’s switching between silent brooding and hyperactive destruction. The character I disliked from their first appearance was Uncle Ian, for reasons which will become clear when you give this book a read.

This is a fantastic story which brings together issues of multiculturalism, terrorism and blame. The back story behind many of the events is just as powerful as the plot and this should really be a book which schools should stick on the curriculum.

Guest Review: Between by Jessica Warman

Title: Between
Author: Jessica Warman
Publisher: Egmont
Publication Date: 3 Oct 2011

Synopsis from Amazon

Only the good die young. Right? Elizabeth Valchar has it all: friends, money, beauty, a cute boyfriend and assured popularity. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she is found drowned next to her parents' boat. Everyone thinks it was a tragic accident - teens drinking on a boat, a misstep leading to a watery death. But Liz is still here after death, and she doesn't know why. There are gaps in her memory. Her only company Alex, a boy killed by a car a year earlier, Liz sets out to piece together her life. But their small coastal town is hiding many secrets - about families, boyfriends and friendship. Plus, Alex hates Liz for being mean when they were alive. Was she as squeaky clean as she thinks she was? Could it be that she herself is hiding the biggest secret of all? Can Liz discover the truth? And if she does, who can she tell? An engrossing, compelling thriller that peels back the layers of small-town life to expose true, ugly, cruel human nature.

GUEST REVIEW BY MADISON YEAR 9 

This book is about the most popular girl in school, Elizabeth. Her life ends tragically on her 18th birthday. Although she is dead, she is another place, a ghost of sorts but not gone from the world. She meets a boy, Alex, who is mysteriously connected to her death. Alex accompanies Elizabeth in her search to find the missing pieces of the mystery that surrounds her death. Alex is the only person to be able to see Elizabeth after her death. Although Elizabeth's family and friends are portrayed in the book they truly believe that she is dead and gone from their lives completely.

My favourite character was Alex because he is very understanding and forgiving of Elizabeth. I felt sorry for him after all he had been through and how he was alone for a long time. Yet he didn't give up; he was still there helping Elizabeth cope.

I disliked the fact that  you didn't get to learn more about Alex's past, I really would have liked more of his side of the story in order to understand his motivations and interactions especially regarding his relationship with Elizabeth.

Also I would have liked to have seen Richie (Elizabeth's boyfriend) and their relationship portrayed differently. Although Elizabeth seems to have a deep connectin to him when she tries to connect with him he doesn't seem to feel her presence at all. I would have really liked it if he could have felt her presence even for just a short while.

I really enjoyed the book and liked Jessica Warman's writing style. I would definitely read more books by her. A cleverly written, interesting and moving story.

Overall I would give this book 4 out of 5.

Trailer Tuesday: Between by Jessica Warman

Title: Between
Author: Jessica Warman
Publisher: Egmont
Publication Date: 3 Oct 2011

Synopsis from Amazon

Only the good die young. Right? Elizabeth Valchar has it all: friends, money, beauty, a cute boyfriend and assured popularity. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she is found drowned next to her parents' boat. Everyone thinks it was a tragic accident - teens drinking on a boat, a misstep leading to a watery death. But Liz is still here after death, and she doesn't know why. There are gaps in her memory. Her only company Alex, a boy killed by a car a year earlier, Liz sets out to piece together her life. But their small coastal town is hiding many secrets - about families, boyfriends and friendship. Plus, Alex hates Liz for being mean when they were alive. Was she as squeaky clean as she thinks she was? Could it be that she herself is hiding the biggest secret of all? Can Liz discover the truth? And if she does, who can she tell? An engrossing, compelling thriller that peels back the layers of small-town life to expose true, ugly, cruel human nature.

I have this to read the book trailer looks fabulous.

Musical Moments: Book Theme Songs: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Title: Unearthly

Series: Unearthly

Author: Cynthia Hand

Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd

Publication Date: 2 May 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

Clara has known she is part-angel since she turned fourteen two years ago. But only now, through fragmented visions of a terrifying bush fire, is her Purpose - the crucial rite of passage for every part-angel - becoming clear to her. When Clara meets Christian, the boy in her visions, he is everything she could wish for - so why does she also have feelings for her enigmatic classmate, Tucker? Clara discovers that her Purpose is only a small part of a titanic struggle between angels and their destructive counterparts, the Black Wings. And when the fire her vision erupts and both Christian and Tucker are in danger, who will she choose to save?

Review Here

MG Monday: Guest Review: Kisses for Lula by Samantha Mackintosh

Title: Kisses for Lula
Series: Lula's Adventures #1
Author: Samantha Mackintosh
Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd
Publication Date: 4 Jun 2010

Synopsis: From Amazon

Lula Bird! Lula Bird is gorgeous, funny and dreading her birthday because you can't turn 16 if you've never been kissed...So why does every boy in Hambledon run a mile the second she bats her eyelids? The fact is, they fear for their lives. Rumour has it Lula's been jinxed! And it's not as if that's her only problem: Lula thinks she has a stalker, her dad keeps sneaking out at night with a lady's handbag, and a mysterious theft is threatening to bring the town to its knees...

Guest Review by Beth of The Pieces of Me

It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything in the vein of Kisses for Lula by Samantha Mackintosh but I jumped at the chance to guest review for Emma and am pleased to say my first review book didn’t disappoint.

Kisses for Lula is told from the point of view of sixteen year old Tallulah Bird daughter of esteemed poet and songwriter Spenser Bird and historical librarian Dr. Ann Bird. Tallulah AKA Lula, Lu and even Tatty for some undisclosed but seemingly embarrassing reason has a big problem, it’s five days before she turns sweet sixteen and she has never been kissed. This is clearly a catastrophe! Even worse, she hasn’t been kissed because of some creepy curse everyone believes she has as all boys she’s ever been close to have met sticky situations! As the day creeps closer Lula HAS to find a boy to kiss and she begins with The List her friends wrote for her. The List includes all sorts of people from Fat Angus (but wait, her younger sister Pen covets him) to pre-teens (don’t even go there) so Lula is stumped. With the help of her library assistant colleague Arnold (even he was once a possible “kissee”) she secures a date with the gorgeous Ben Latter, her dream guy. What could be better? However, as well as Ben there’s creepy Jack de Souza on the scene. Older cousin of one of her best friends, Lula is far from impressed by university student Jack but could he be the one? Lula doesn’t think so.

Behind all this extremely important and life-changing drama, there’s another mystery afoot. Important documents have gone missing from Lula’s Mum’s office and there’s a desperate hunt to find them. A hunt that turns life-threatening. Add to this her Dad’s strange illness and creeping about in the evening…with a women’s handbag, could Lula’s life be any more difficult?

This is a brilliant, hilarious and well-written YA novel which I’m really happy to have had the opportunity to read as I’d never have come across it on my own.  Lula is an extremely believable and lovable character who I think anybody would love and Mackintosh is extremely accomplished in covering both the trials of teenager-hood with more serious issues that come to light relating to Lula’s parents. Fantastic read!

Saturday Spotlight: Amazing New Storytelling Experience with Michael Grant

I am really having trouble expressing myself with the details about this amazing project so I may cut and paste the press release so you can understand the concept better than I can explain it lol.

 

 

Press Release:

BZRK (bə’zərk)

A unique transmedia storytelling experience that brings together the worlds of gaming and YA fiction

Egmont has teamed up with Michael Grant, author of the bestselling GONE series and media studio The Shadow Gang to launch BZRK.

This unique storytelling experience brings together the worlds of gaming and YA fiction and is backed by a team of digital specialists including Rich Silverman, writer on Alternate Reality Games for Heroes (‘Evolutions’) and The Dark Knight (‘Why So Serious?’). 

BZRK is a thriller aimed at the Young Adult. It is an edge-of-your-seat story delivered in a new way that will engage digital natives, gamers and readers. Grant describes the story as, ‘A battle for the soul and freedom of the human race carried out simultaneously in the world we know, and in a very different world that is both familiar and utterly strange. It's a world where a single mistake can lead to death or, perhaps worse, to irreversible, shrieking madness.’ 

The story begins this September with an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) and will unfold across multiple channels including an iOS/Android game app and a storyline delivered through the web and social networks. GOBZRK.com, a comprehensive hub website, will provide continuity for the entire experience leading up to and beyond the release of BZRK book one in February. 

‘A key principle of the BZRK experience is that each piece is original,’ said Michael Grant. ‘We are not interested in essentially telling the same story over and over again in different formats. Each piece of this - the ARG, the app, the site and the books – is a story unto itself, each revealing an aspect of the world of BZRK.’ 

Cally Poplak, Managing Director, Egmont Press said: ‘BZRK is a brilliantly original thriller. What particularly excites me is that it shows that a cracking story is what matters, and all formats, whether digital or print, serve that story, taking it to where the audience is.’  

‘It’s an approach that encourages a community to form and participate in the story as it unfolds, which is a new way to publish for teenagers,’ added Mike Richards Head of Marketing for Egmont Press. ‘Layers will be added through different media over six months before BZRK book one is even released.’ 

Grant says, ‘You have never seen this before. That’s my promise. You have never seen anything like this world, you’ve never seen this action, you’ve never seen this level of disturbing intensity. By the time you are through the world of BZRK you will be crawling out of your skin.’   

‘You may think you know what to expect.  You don’t.’

This is a fantastic concept and I am racking my brains to see how I can incorporate into the library especially as we now have the screen and projector. Hopefully with the multi-media experience it is going to get a whole lot more people reading *crosses fingers* 

If you have any ideas on how to incorporate it in the library please let me know [ : D ]