Book Views (7)

Book Views is an idea that Kate over at The Neverending Shelf created. Basically, I give you a picture, the summary and a review (in less than 75 words).

Evermore
by Alyson Noel

Summary (via Goodreads): Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

Review: This was a reread for me and I have to say I didn't like it quite as much as the first time. I think I am getting annoyed with the hot/cold relationships found in paranormal YA. I do like the other aspects - the ghost of a dead sister, the history between Ever and Damen.

Final verdict: Probably not a top priority of mine to finish this series. It just doesn't have much of a plot.

Border Crossing
by Jessica Lee Anderson

Summary (via Goodreads): The mixed-race son of apple pickers, Manz lives with his hard-drinking mother and her truck-driver boyfriend in the hardscrabble world of dusty Rockhill, Texas. Forced to take a summer job rebuilding fence of a cattle ranch, Manz works alongside his friend Jed and meets a girl named Vanessa — but even among his friends, Manz suffers from an uncontrollable paranoia. As the summer wears on, Manz becomes convinced that "Operation Wetback," a brutal postwar relocation program, is being put back into effect. As the voices in his head grow louder and more insistent, Manz struggles to negotiate the difficulties of adolescence, the perils of an oppressed environment, and the terror of losing his grip on reality.

Review: An interesting look at the life of a teenage guy living in Texas. This novel deals with issues like alcoholism, class differences, illegal immigration, and child abuse.

Final verdict: Not the happiest story, but a decent read.

Bones of Faerie
by Janni Lee Simner

Summary (via Goodreads): The war between humanity and Faerie devastated both sides. Or so 15-year-old Liza has been told. Nothing has been seen or heard from Faerie since, and Liza’s world bears the scars of its encounter with magic. Trees move with sinister intention, and the town Liza calls home is surrounded by a forest that threatens to harm all those who wander into it. Then Liza discovers she has the Faerie ability to see—into the past, into the future—and she has no choice but to flee her town. Liza’s quest will take her into Faerie and back again, and what she finds along the way may be the key to healing both worlds.

Janni Lee Simner’s first novel for young adults is a dark fairy-tale twist on apocalyptic fiction—as familiar as a nightmare, yet altogether unique.

Review: A great fantasy dystopian - a genre mix I have never read before. I loved the action, the history and the characters and I cannot wait to read more by this author.

Final verdict: I highly recommend this to any reader of fantasy or dystopian fiction.

Wake
by Lisa McMann

Summary (via Goodreads): Ever since she was eight years old, high school student Janie Hannagan has been uncontrollably drawn into other people's dreams, but it is not until she befriends an elderly nursing home patient and becomes involved with an enigmatic fellow-student that she discovers her true power.

Review: This was definitely quite a different paranormal YA novel that dealt with dream-walking. I like how the power is more of a burden to Janie than anything else. I loved the characters, the plot and the way Janie dealt with this newfound skill.

Final verdict: Definitely a series I will be reading more of soon.

Strange Angels
by Lili St. Crow

Summary (via Goodreads): Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.)

Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her?

Review: Zombies, horrifying red-eyed flaming dogs, and vampires - what more could a girl like me want in a novel? My only problem with the book was that Dru never seemed to step up to her role. She seemed to lack a lot of information for having been with her father hunting monsters for years.

Final verdict: Action-packed, but needed more character growth.