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♥Jessica(:
Showing posts with label The Darkest Minds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Darkest Minds. Show all posts
Monday, June 3, 2013
The Best Book Ever Hop!
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Thought I'd Like MORE/LESS Than I Did
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
Books I Thought I'd Like LESS:
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
This one is a big deal for me, because if you've seen my review or heard me talk about it, you'd know that this is one of my favorite books EVER. But before I actually, you know, READ it, I was soooo skeptical, and I did not think this would be my cup of tea. I thought it was interesting, but I thought I'd get bored with it. I WAS SO FREAKING WRONG.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
My friend Dolly pretty much verbally abused me until I agreed to read this one. And, oh sweet goodness, I am so thankful now. I thought this book would be so dry and take forever--even though it's a small book. But I read this book in less than a day and wish soooo much that I owned it so I could look back on this perfect awesomeness as much as I want. Goodness, y'all...*TEARS*
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
I'd had my eye on this one for a while but was always too much of a wimp to actually grab it and give it a chance. But then one day, I was sitting in the library and decided "WHY THE HECK NOT?!?!" and checked it out. 24 hours later, I was crying myself to sleep about Ty and..just...goodness. Love. Love love love.
Love's Forbidden Flower by Diane Rinella
Because of the content of this book, I kind of doubted how much I'd really enjoy it. But then I started reading it....and I was freaking HOOKED. Now I wish Christopher was real and am dyyyying for book 2.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
I made a whole bunch of assumptions about this book before I read this one. Then I read it and was a MESS and wanted to slap myself around a bit for being so stupid. This book is FANTASTIC, guys.
Books I Thought I'd Like More:
As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott
This book had such an interesting premise and I really liked a few of her other books. But this one? Did not work for me. I got so confused and it just ended up giving me a headache. I'm still a fan of Elizabeth Scott, though!
The Temptation by Alisa Valdes
I thought this one would have everything I looked for in a book--cool paranormal stuff, a swoon-worthy boy, and a character that made me laugh. This one did, but all of that was given to me in cliches that I just did not like.
Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
Ohmygoodness, this book. It looked like something I'd love, all angels and love. And at first, I actually thought I kind of liked it. But then it sat on my mind and I was thinking about it and thinking about it and...no. Just no. No just no. These books do not work for me. None in the trilogy. Boring characters, a plot that I simply do NOT like. My biggest problem with this trilogy was the change in Gabriel. jut...ugh! I hope Adornetto writes something new so I can read it and love it. But for now, this author is not on my happy list.
That Summer by Sarah Dessen
I know what you're going to say, okay? I KNOW. But I'm not saying I hated this book. I actually very much enjoyed this book. But not as much as I thought I would. This was my second-to-last Sarah Dessen book I read--I'd read all of them except What Happened to Goodbye before this one. And that was only because What Happened to Goodbye wasn't released yet. But compared to her other novels, this one was just not as good to me. I love her other ones better. SO, DO NOT GET ME WRONG. I heart Sarah Dessen and her books more than I can say. But this one was not as fabulous as I thought it'd be. That is all.
The Mephisto Covenant: The Redemption of Ajax by Trinity Faegen
I love Jax. So much. But this book, overall? Did not live up to my expectations at all. It was a lot of repeated back-and-forth, fickleness. That bothered me. There WERE parts that I got all googly-eyed over, but I still thought I'd like this book more. Nevertheless, Ajax? Is in my heart.
Okay, that's ten, y'all! I think. Let me check...
Yep. That's ten.
Do you do Top Ten Tuesday? Link me up!
What do you think of my list? Let me know!
If you do Teaser Tuesday, feel free to link me there, too. Just because I'm not doing that right now does not mean that I don't like to be teased! :)
♥Jessica(:
Monday, January 14, 2013
No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop!
So. A giveaway. WHAT could I be giving away? Well, if you've been hanging around my blog, you'll know that I have a new favorite book. Or, new favorite book that is not written by JLA. And I think EVERYONE should read it. So I'm giving away...
I just love that cover.
Anyway, yeah. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Braken!
This book is so amazing, I can't even, you guys. AHH!
Now back to the part where I give one of you lovely people a copy of this marvelous book:
Details!
- This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL! Everyone deserves a chance to read this book, y'all.
- My giveaway policy DOES apply for this one. Make sure you've read it.
- One winner will be randomly chosen to recieve one copy of The Darkest Minds, the super awesome book by Alexandra Braken
- Fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck, you guys!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Review: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken♥
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Release Date: December 18, 2012
Format: ARC, 498 pages
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Series: The Darkest Minds #1
Source: Gifted from Anna!!
Description from Goodreads:
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.
Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.
When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.
When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.
Congratulations to The Darkest Minds for being the first book of 2013 to make me cry.
Even bigger congratulations for being my new favorite non-JLA book.
Yeah. I loved it that much. This book...this book was amazing. It's hard for me to even explain, but I'm going to try, and I'm not going to use a bunch of gifs to do it because this book...there is no easy way out in this book.
Let's think for a second. Let's go back to the crying thing. Now, I'm a big baby. A huge baby. When a book is sad, I tear up. Sometimes, if it's sad enough, I cry. But even though I am a big baby, I don't CRY LIKE A BABY all that much while reading books. That's just not how it usually goes. Sure, a tear or two here and there, but SOBBING? Not often.
I sobbed for this book.
As I said, doesn't happen often. From what I can remember, I've only cried a bunch for:
- Night by Elie Wiesel
- The Story of Us by Deb Caletti
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
- Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout
- Flawed by Kate Avelynn
And that's IT. Anything else I've cried for, was not that big of a deal, not really. I mean, I probably did hyperventilate like I said or something for those ones, but actually holy-crap-I-can't-stop-crying? Did not happen.
And, if we're being honest, The Darkest Minds caused me to cry like I have never cried for a book before. Just...wow.
Now, if it made me cry so much WHY is it my favorite? Why?
Well, first of all, Alexandra Bracken is a kickass writer. She can WRITE. I mean, obviously, if she can make me cry like that, but she made me laugh, too. And she made my jaw-drop, and she kept me reading when I might have given up on the book otherwise. The author did an AMAZING job with this book. The premise was magnificent and execution flawless. I admit, if this story had been told in any other way, I probably would have put it down. I normally don't go for this kind of thing. I mean, we don't even meet the other big main characters until 100 pages in. But Alexandra Bracken..well, she did her job so freaking well.
And then the characters...OH MY GOODNESS, the characters.
Character Rundown:
Ruby: For all intents and purposes, I should have hated Ruby. She lied, she did things I wanted to slap her for, and she wasn't open enough. But I love this chick. Why? Because she's logical. Stick a 10 year old girl in a camp like THAT for 6 years while she hides the secret of WHO SHE IS and then pull her out, and I have no doubt Ruby is what should come out. And goodness gracious, I understand her. I get the way she thinks, even though I wish she could be different sometimes. I get it and I know and I just...Ruby's a great character.
Liam: Awww, my little southern boy. I never failed to smile when he used the word "darlin'." Even at the end. He's such a purely GREAT person. Confident and sure of himself, but not in an arrogant way. More in a helpful, kind way. I love this boy. He's exacly what Ruby needs. Ohmyflippinggoodess, he is EXACTLY what she needs.
Chubs: Charles. Oh, man, Chubs was my favorite character in this book. He's so loyal and caring and determined. He knows what he wants and goes for it. He knows who he likes and takes care of them. And he...he knows what to do...and does it. He's smart. He's funny. He dreams about food a lot. Goodness, I can't even say much more. "My favorite character" should tell you how amazing he is.
Bad guy: So, yeah, there's a bad guy. I'm not going to tell you his name because that's part of the mystery! He could be anybody. ANYBODY. You might guess him, you might not. Personally, I DID guess him, but then changed my mind farther into the book. It just didn't add up at that point. Anyway, this bad guy. He toyed with my emotions a bit. I mean, not once did he really fool me--I was very suspicious around him--but I'm also one to care for characters I shouldn't. This guy was no exception. Now, I want to beat the crap out of this guy just like anyone else does. But he was a great villain. That's all I'm going to say. I'm trying SO HARD not to spoil for you guys.
Plot. A big chunk of the beginning was world building. As I said, we don't meet our awesome companions until about 100 pages in. That does not mean those first 100 pages were horrid, though. Those first 100 pages are the ones that would usually bore me to the point of giving up.
I didn't give up.
Which means they held my attention. I didn't even get bored. Again, as I already said: Alexandra Braken can WRITE. Very, very well. And then after we met Liam and Zu and Chubs...well, I loathed to put the book down. It was interesting and kept me on my toes and made me happy and sad and it was just a whirlwind of TERRIFIC.
Sweet things. There is romance. In that aspect, Liam's our boy. Sweet, and--as I said, because I just can't stop repeating myself--exactly what Ruby needs. And then there's Zu, the sweet little girl. And there is Chubs. Who did not like Ruby AT ALL at first, but grew to love her just as he did with Zu and Liam. That was my favorite growth in this book--how the four of them grew together. They're just super great friends and I loved it. So loyal to each other and willing to do anything...ANYTHING...for one another. I had fun with the Liam and Ruby relationship, too. Which I've already explained.
The ending. This is where I have no clue what to say. It was a GREAT ending. I want the next book now. Right this second. This is probably going to be one of my favorite trilogies ever, if not #1. But then again...it was so heartbreaking. It took me so long to read the last 20ish pages or so because I was just CRYING. Everything...it was just...it all falls apart. And then Ruby, she takes care of it! I swear, I can't imagine a different way for her to deal with that situation. But that doesn't make it any less sad.
Overall, one of my favorites EVER. Wonderful writing, badass characters, and so much emotion. I lovelovelove this book so much. If you ask me, YOU should definitely read it. I can't imagine NOT reading it. It's not very lighthearted, but it is definitely a magnificent story that will stick with you. I know it's sticking with me.
Thanks a million to Anna for giving me this book. There aren't enough words in the world to explain how grateful I am.
♥Jessica(:
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