Anyone? By Angela Scott//I'm Mildly Scarred Forever

I think I need a therapist.

I finished the book Anyone? by Angela Scott last night at about...ohhhh 2:30 am.



I got the book on my kindle app (I'm too cheap for a real kindle) cause I thought "Hey! Mildly interesting looking book for .99 cents!" Mildly interesting-ha! 

The end of the world? That’s the stuff of Hollywood blockbusters and deep philosophical exercises in school. No need to sweat it. So when sixteen-year-old Tess’s doomsday-dad builds a bomb shelter in their suburban backyard, everyone thinks he’s gone crazy….
…Until fire rains down from the sky, sinking whole cities into colossal craters and setting much of the world ablaze.
Tess’s dad gives her a few short minutes to gather her emergency bag and her freaked-out kitten, then leads her outside and into the underground shelter. Terrified, the last thing she expects is for him to leave her there all alone, but he has no choice—he must find her missing brother.
Before leaving, he makes Tess promise to keep the hatch door shut, not to open it for anyone but him, and to stay put until he returns.
But he forgot to tell her one thing: What is she supposed to do if he never comes back?

I was totally enthralled by the blurb and I was not disappointed. 

The book doesn't give us any time to get to know Tess before things happen and there is almost no back story to her. As much as I thought it would be weird, I kind of liked it. It felt like, when it's the end of the world, I don't care about who she was. I need to know who she is now. And that's what I got.

I was surprised though because I figured she would stay in her bunker the whole time for some reason. Silly assumption, I know. 

When she leaves the bunker to find her town in ruins and no one in sight, I was super terrified for her. That's one thing this book does very well. It pulled me in and I felt everything. Even the bits that it didn't tell us her exact fears and emotions at the time, I felt like I was there. 

Eventually she finds someone to help protect her. I was not sold on him at first. As soon as interaction with others entered the book, Tess seemed less and less realistic. The things she said and thought didn't sound like something a real person would say and think. Even some of the decisions she made seemed entirely forced and plot-based.

That didn't stop me from being hooked till the end, but it did make me question the author's credibility for a while.

Pretty soon though, the plot picked up speed and gathered SO MUCH depth. Oh my word. So crazy.

I started to question everything the book had told me. Heck I questioned Tess' sanity for a LONG time. Still do actually.

The end though. The END.



I had to read the words "the end" about 5 times before I resigned to the fact that it really was over. And THEN, searching for a sequel I found na-da. The reviews on amazon acted like it was the end and most were unsatisfied with it.

FOR GOOD REASON. GAH.

I was pretty distraught until I found these words at the very end of the blurb:

 Watch for the second book in the Anyone? series, Anyone Else?, coming in 2016.

2016??

I literally had to stop and think of what year it was in the hopes that 2016 was next month. It's not by the way.

But oh the relief that these thousands of questions I had would be answered eventually! I have many theories. One involves a piece of poisoned sardine. (But I'm pretty sure that isn't it.) 

BY THE WAY. I totally had a dream that I was the main character in this book (with a completely different spin obviously cause my imagination)! I don't know if I have EVER dreamed (dreamt?) about a book so kudos Miss Scott!

All in all, I thought it was a great book with just enough "edge of your seat" suspense to keep it exciting while keeping with the "how would we survive in the apocalypse?" stuff to satisfy a girl who is mildly interested obsessed with the "what did they eat? what did they wear? What did they pack?" logistics. Yay planning! 

I will definitely be keeping up with the release date on this sequel they're promising. I dearly hope it doesn't disappoint. This series has great potential and I would hate to see it wasted.

Have you read Anyone? What did you think of the end? Do YOU like books that make you question the sanity of everyone in them? I sure don't.

Divergent (A Book Review)

Ah Divergent. I read this book all in one sitting.  I was up until 2 am and ended up doing a lot more crying than I thought. I may not have full on sobbed, but inside I was being torn to shreds.

Toward the middle of the book, it was at a really intense part. I was on edge, it was late, when out of nowhere, a earsplitting clap of thunder sounded. I jumped nearly out of bed and just kind of sat there. Staring at my window. One of my friends says that usually means my house was struck by lightning. Whatever it was, it scared me to death. Reading is a hazardous activity.

Back to the actual book, I loved the characters.  I loved the setting. I related well with Tris. It was fabulous. I was immediately pulled in. The voice is so clear and easy to read and I connected with Tris almost immediately. It's rare that a character's voice sounds so much like myself. I kept seeing myself in her thoughts, which usually just means the author is good at making relatable characters. But for this, it seemed more than that. And it scares me, because some of the things she did later, I don't agree with. But she didn't at the beginning either. It makes me wonder what I would do in a situation like hers.

My favorite part of the book was the fact that it gave you clues of things and it wasn't impossible to figure stuff out. Example: Agatha Christie, while I adore her, it's pretty much impossible to figure stuff in those books out. But in Divergent, I could predict things a little bit before they happened. And I LOVE that. But it wasn't entirely predictable and boring.

The theme was really good as well. At the end, one of the characters said something that to me just SCREAMED biblical worldview. And God had been mentioned a few times but I honestly thought it was just for Tris's character. So on the last page, I just knew Ms. Roth had to be a christian. And sure enough, I flipped the page to the acknowledgements and God is number 1. I was so happy! :)

And let me just say, the five different groups, So. Awesome! I wouldn't have been able to come up with something that logical. I mean, the five factions make sense. It's crazy how much I could see that actually happening. It wouldn't work. But I could see it happening.

Overall, I loved it. Twists,  stunning characters,  good dialogue. It's a phenomenal dystopian book and I highly recommend it! Five stars!

Cinder: Short-Circuited My Brain and Feels

WARNING! THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS POST. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

I just finished Cinder by Marissa Meyer. As you might know, I asked in a previous post which book I should read first. (Cinder was one of the options) After only one vote, my curiosity got the better of me and I started the book around 9:30 at night. It is now 1:18am and I didn't put it down for a second.

Forgive me, I'm having a lot of trouble forming coherent sentences and thoughts, I'm in book hangover mode right now. I think the end kind of short circuited my brain...

Thoughts that probably don't make sense: Oh my gosh, a cyborg Cinderella? But no godmother? Levana. Adri. Pearl. Evil. Kai...I'm so disappointed my dear...Iko-*chokes* Peony...*cries* It's Prim all over again...*cries more* End?? What?? I was not warned this is a series!!

Thoughts that might make more sense:

When it started, I was a little...confused? Taken aback? I was expecting the feel of the book to be different than it was. It actually reminded me a LOT of The Book of A Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. (Please tell me some of you have read it...)

First off, futuristic China with a cyborg main charrie? Awesome. I expected to be more weirded out by it that than I actually was.

The characters were superb. I hated the ones I was supposed to hate, I loved the ones I was supposed to love, and I felt they developed well.

I teared up twice. I actually might have cried for real when Iko was dismantled if I had let myself linger on it. It was unfair. Cinder didn't deserve it, Iko didn't. My brain was so riled up from their (Adri vs. Cinder) fight and Peony, that what happened to Iko was the last straw. Adri will never be forgiven.

When Peony died with the antidote so close, all the feelings from Mockingjay when Prim died came rushing back and I almost choked. So unfair to do that to me again. Why would that happen? Why would the author do that to me?

Now Kai. I adore him. Even after the end, I mean, what choice did he have? Cinder HAD lied to him. She was a cyborg AND a lunar. He trusted her and now he had to make all these decisions after watching her become someone he didn't know, AND she almost died?? That would be a lot for anyone. But I've heard the next book doesn't really help his case. Dangit.

His smile though...I can see it. The way it's described sounds just like one of my friends. It just makes me happy and warms my heart. And when he almost kissed her, gah! I was so happy. Course, then her brain exploded but you know.

He actually remined me a lot of the love interest from aforementioned Book of a Thousand Days and also of the Prince from River Secrets. They share a lot of similar traits and that fact I think made me like him more, even in the beginning when we didn't really know him. It took me back to some of my favorite books and helped me relate better I think. Or helped me care about him more.

Levana. Ick. I hate her with a passion. And Sybil too. Filth. That's all.

And the doctor? Totally Cinna. Mixed with...Gaius?

I thought the idea of cyborgs and androids was well done. It didn't feel quite as bizarre as I anticipated. It worked and I enjoyed it. (Did anyone else imagine her car as a VW Beatle? Or was that just me?) Iko in my mind looked just like Eva from Wall•E. Was that a me thing too?

Also, was the Princess Selene thing supposed to be a huge shocking surprise? Cause I wasn't surprised. Don't get me wrong though! I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense. KNOWING she was the princess, just aching to finally be told, it made me giddy. I love guessing things. And Marissa did it splendidly. I wasn't bored with the knowledge, I wasn't upset about knowing so soon, I was just happy. The idea of it, the way everything fit together...well okay, I wasn't expecting her to be hare-brained enough to go to the ball like that even with the news. At least get a hover thingy with your money! And she made such a ridiculous fool of herself... But before all that,  I could just taste the happiness!

But then.

My nightmare happened. I've had it happen to me so many times. How could I not have known? Expected it?

It's the first in a series! Whoopee.

Not the happy ending I had hoped at all. Prince Kai...I sympathize with your situation, I understand your choices. They make sense to me. But my goodness! You didn't even kiss her back!! Fool of a Took...

If you can tell, I get rather excited about my books. I tend to see only AMAZING in them unless they are truly horrible. (Or unless they're Mockingjay which left me battered but after a while I realized I hadn't liked it as much as I thought.) So if you think I'm totally crazy for my excitement and emotional trauma, just know, it's just me. Making an appearance in my happiest state. Book trance.

Overall, I love Cinder. And if my library doesn't have Scarlet...I might just die. For real.

P.S. It's now 2:11am. Good thing I'm homeschooled and don't have to worry about waking up early for school...I would probably die. (Yes, it did take me that long to write that post.)

The New Recruit {Book Review}

My first book review post! I'm pretty excited!

I read The New Recruit by Jill Williamson. First off, here's a short summary. 

"Forced to choose between military school and a Christian spy organization, skeptic Spencer Garmond signs on with the Bible geeks. But before he even boards the plane for Moscow, Spencer realizes this is no Bible club. These guys mean business. Stumbling onto a case involving a gang of homeless boys, a chilling tattoo, and the always beautiful Anya Vseveloda, Spencer struggles to find the faith needed to save the Mission League from enemy infiltration.   - See more at: http://www.jillwilliamson.com/books/the-new-recruit/#sthash.ckL6QXzb.dpuf" 

I was stunned. When I first started it, I wasn't really sure what I was getting into. And to be honest, the first few chapters didn't pull me in as much as I thought they would. I think when I really started getting into it was when the other teenage characters came in. But by the end I was completely entranced. I was quite unhappy when it ended. It left a lot of things unanswered. I realized later it's the first in a series so they will resolve the loose ends. I had to make an effort to calm down. 

The book began with Spencer. (It took me forever to get used to that name fitting his character. I know a Spencer who is the complete opposite so I kept getting confused.) He is a boy who is against "churchers" and anything related to God. He is rebellious and loves basketball. Prone to get into trouble and low moral standards. I found very little in common with him and it was difficult to relate to him. Usually in books, despite annoying main characters, I have concern and empathy for them. I care what happens. But with Spencer, every time he did something stupid, (which was pretty much every other chapter) I felt frustrated. He annoyed me so much! But I did grow to have some concern by the end. He reminded me of what one of my best friends would be like without knowing Jesus. It kinda freaked me out. 

The Christian theme of the book was well done I thought. One of the girls I could hardly believe was public schooled. She fit the stereotypical "homeschooler". Skirts, radical, talks ALL the time. (I'm not saying that's what all homeschoolers are, that's the stereotype and she fit it.) I was very annoyed with her but I admired her for her bravery. Reading about her passion for unreached people made me want to go on a missions trip SO bad.

 

There were a lot of typos in the book I noticed. But it was written well.  I really liked the style the author used. She did a really good job breaking it into "reports" so that even though it was written in first person, she could still switch characters every once in a while.

The main antagonist was suspected to be possessed by a demon, which really freaked me out. The idea of demons has always scared me. Which is quite ridiculous because I know I serve a God who has already defeated them. But still, I was thrown because I never expected that to be as prominent as it was.

I thought it was funny there was a girl named Beth who is my opposite in everything. She's athletic and tough, blonde and wise. Not like me at all. :)

Overall, I really liked the book. I would definitely recommend it! I give it 4 out of 5 stars. Head over to amazon and check it out for yourself!