Raging Star by Moira Young Review + Fancast

Title: Raging Star (Dust Lands #3)
Author: Moira Young
Source: Library
Rating: 5 Stars

Her passion kept them alive. Now it may destroy them all.

Saba is ready to seize her destiny and defeat DeMalo...until she meets him and finds herself drawn to the man and his vision of a healed earth, a New Eden. DeMalo wants Saba to join him, in life and work, to build a stable, sustainable world…for the chosen few. The young and the healthy. Under his control.

Jack’s choice is clear: to fight DeMalo and try to stop New Eden. Presumed dead, he's gone undercover, feeing Saba crucial information in secret meetings. Saba hides her connection with DeMalo and commits herself to the fight. Joined by her brother, Lugh, and her sister, Emmi, Saba leads a small guerilla band against the settlers and the Tonton militia. But the odds are overwhelming. Saba knows how to fight—she's not called the Angel of Death for nothing. But what can she do when the fight cannot be won? Then DeMalo offers Saba a chance—a seductive chance she may not be able to refuse. How much will she sacrifice to save the people she loves?

The road has never been more dangerous, and betrayal lurks in the most unexpected places in the breathtaking conclusion to the Dust Lands Trilogy.

First off, I can’t even begin to describe how much I love this series. The writing style is unique, the storyline is awesome and when you add Saba, Jack, Emmi, the Freehawks, it is all so amazing! I first saw Blood Red Road on a store shelf a couple weeks after it came out and knew I just had to read it. It was only my third dystopian book (after the Giver and the Hunger Games) so I had never read anything like it before. Almost three years later I’m finishing Raging Star with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. Though I was sad to say goodbye to some of my favorite characters I was beyond satisfied with the ending.

42 pages into the book I was already in love. The actions and emotions of the book washed over me and pulled me under, not letting me go. I don’t normally react in any way when reading but this time I was laughing out loud, bouncing on the end of the couch pulling the book closer to my face. I would curl up into the fetal position and sigh, trying to hold back my tears and not succeeding. As I was in the living room my sister got to witness all these rollercoaster emotions as well. I think I made her a bit nervous to read it.

Saba spent most of this book trying to be a leader to her small gang but sometimes it just didn’t seem possible. One wrong move on her part and they were looking to revolt. She feels the burden of the mission and is trying hard but on the inside she is starting to crack. You really feel for Saba as she tries to deal with her personal struggles and trying to save everyone around her. 

There were a couple additional narrations added to this book, little splatters of it here and there, and I thought they were very well done. One was Emmi and one was a mystery character that we met at the end of Rebel Heart. I spent over half the book trying to figure out who this mystery character was and as it went on I got more anxious (read the book and find out why) hence the bouncing on the edge of the couch.

My favorite book of the year so far, as well as one of my favorite series, if you haven’t read it yet you need to! If you’ve heard about Blood Red Road but never got around to reading it, now is the perfect time.  Farewell Saba and the gang! You will live forever on my bookshelf! 

                                                                 Fancast                       

Saba (Lyndsy Fonseca)

Jack (Drew Roy)

Emmi (Emily Alyn Lind)

Lugh (Jake Abel)

Tommo (Asa Butterfield)

DeMalo (Ben Mansfield)

Ash (Sarah Carter)

Creed (Andrew Garfield)

There's my idea of who's who. What are your fancast's for this book?

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Beware the Wild by Natalie C. Parker

It's an oppressively hot and sticky morning in June when Sterling and her brother, Phin, have an argument that compels him to run into the town swamp -- the one that strikes fear in all the residents of Sticks, Louisiana. Phin doesn't return. Instead, a girl named Lenora May climbs out, and now Sterling is the only person in Sticks who remembers her brother ever existed.

Sterling needs to figure out what the swamp's done with her beloved brother and how Lenora May is connected to his disappearance -- and loner boy Heath Durham might be the only one who can help her.

This debut novel is full of atmosphere, twists and turns, and a swoon-worthy romance. - Summary from Goodreads

I read a review that said this was a southern version of a faery changling story. Usually changlings are switched with young children, it'll be interesting to see this take on the legend. I always love stories about creepy faeries so I'm really looking forward to this. Plus, it involves siblings which adds to its appeal. I think this sounds like a really awesome and really dark read.

NEW Harry Potter Short Story by J.K. Rowling!!!

     J.K. Rowling just released a Harry Potter short story taking place years after the events of the books. It's written in the format of a Rita Skeeter article as she reports on the Dumbledore's Army reunion at the Quidditch World Cup. The story can be read at the Daily Prophet on Pottermore or at The Today Show website.

     I wasn't sure how I'd like it as an article by Rita Skeeter, but I found myself laughing quite a few times. Despite Skeeter's habit of looking for scandal in everything I was able to weed through her commentary enough to see that my beloved characters are happy.

     Thank you, J.K. Rowling for giving us this fun look at the lives of our favorite characters.

Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publication Date: June 2014
Rating: 5 Stars

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.
Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for. -Summary from Goodreads

     I've come to the realization that writing a review for the conclusion of a trilogy is hard. It's hard to put all my feelings for this book into words. It's hard to avoid spoilers. It's hard to do justice to something that was so awesome.

     Ruin and Rising was everything a conclusion ought to be. Everything that this series has been building up to got dealt with, all loose ends were tied up, and characters were given their endings. There were a couple of twists, heart-wrenching moments, and plenty of awesomeness. Everything was as it should be.

     This book made me gasp in shock and smile from sweetness. It made me fall in love with the characters again after almost a year of not being in their world. It solidified my love of the series by having a solid conclusion. Simply put, it was all-around just a well done book.

     I don't know what else I can say except that the Grisha Trilogy will live in my heart, and on my bookshelf, for a very long time.
                -Christina

Stacking the Shelves (1)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews which is about showing off new additions to your bookshelf.

This is the first time I've ever done Stacking the Shelves, but school is coming up in a month and a half so, naturally, I bought some books.

 

Here's the first group of my school books, I still have a few more to get plus 2 classes that haven't posted their book list yet. From left to right there's: How to Interpret Literature, Reading and Writing About Literature, 40 Short Stories, Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction.

And since I'm buying school books I had to buy some books for myself. I got Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore, I remember this being a very fun book that reminded me of the Phantom Stallion books that I read when I was younger, with the addition of ghosts. Also, it's a standalone which adds to its appeal. Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff, this book is so amazing and haunting (pun intended) and I just really needed for it to be on my bookshelf. The last one is Planning Your Novel: Idea's and Structure by Janice Hardy of Fiction University, my sister and I love reading the writing advice on her blog so this was a must have. I want to use what's left of this summer to develop and outline a story idea I have so it'll be ready by NaNoWriMo. I've already flipped through it a bit and I know that getting this book was totally worth it.

Feature Follow Friday (2)

This is a meme hosted by Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read.  It's a blog hop to help expand your readership.

 The Gardener by Sarah Stewart

The story is told by a girl writing letters to her grandmother after she has to move away from the country to New York to live with her serious uncle. The story is incredibly sweet and the pictures are so gorgeous and colorful which is why it was one of my favorites as a kid.

Boom Town by Sonia Levitin

A fun story about a girl trying to make a pie in less than ideal conditions. After many tries she succeeds and accidentally begins her own business out of her mother's kitchen.

 

Miss Suzy by Miriam Young

A squirrel who lives in a tree house with firefly lamps gets kicked out by a gang of mean squirrel, so she runs to an old home and finds a dollhouse to live in. There she befriends a bunch of toy soldiers. Man, I LOVED this book when I was a kid! There was so much to capture my imagination.

Doctor Who Air Date

As most of you have probably already heard, Doctor Who series 8 premiere date is August 23rd! IT'S A NEW SEASON! WITH A NEW DOCTOR! I'm going to miss Matt Smith as the Doctor, but I feel like we've been through this transition before, like, 11 times, so we should be used to this who regeneration thing... right?... I don't know... but I haven't disliked a Doctor out of the 3 that I've seen, so bring on #4!... or, should I say, #12!

When they announced that Peter Capaldi was going to be the 12th Doctor I was excited to see an older regeneration of the Doctor than we've seen in a while. I'm interested to see what they do with his personality, whatever it is I'm sure he'll still have that addictive energy and kooky personality like always.

I heard that they're also bringing in one of Clara's co-workers as another companion. I never really warmed up to Clara (I still miss the Ponds, but I try to like her. I really do)  but I'm hoping I'll like her better in a group dynamic. Everything's better when there's 3, remember the episodes with Rose and Jack? And the Ponds? And those episodes with Donna and Martha together? It's the Power of 3 (I love that episode!)!

What are your thoughts on the future of Doctor Who? Are you as excited as I am?
          -Christina

Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

Title: Across a Star-Swept Sea (For Darkness Shows the Stars #2)
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Pages: 449
Source: Library
Rating: 5 Stars

Centuries after wars nearly destroyed civilization, the two islands of New Pacifica stand alone, a terraformed paradise where even the Reduction—the devastating brain disorder that sparked the wars—is a distant memory. Yet on the isle of Galatea, an uprising against the ruling aristocrats has turned deadly. The revolutionaries’ weapon is a drug that damages their enemies’ brains, and the only hope is rescue by a mysterious spy known as the Wild Poppy.

On the neighboring island of Albion, no one suspects that the Wild Poppy is actually famously frivolous aristocrat Persis Blake. The teenager uses her shallow, socialite trappings to hide her true purpose: her gossipy flutternotes are encrypted plans, her pampered sea mink is genetically engineered for spying, and her well-publicized new romance with handsome Galatean medic Justen Helo… is her most dangerous mission ever.

Though Persis is falling for Justen, she can’t risk showing him her true self, especially once she learns he’s hiding far more than simply his disenchantment with his country’s revolution and his undeniable attraction to the silly socialite he’s pretending to love. His darkest secret could plunge both islands into a new dark age, and Persis realizes that when it comes to Justen Helo, she’s not only risking her heart, she’s risking the world she’s sworn to protect. -Summary from Goodreads

            What can I say about Across a Star-Swept Sea? It was dazzling! In this companion novel to For Darkness Show the Stars, Peterfreund spins us a captivating tale of strength, passion, and overcoming the cycle of persecution. 
 

Though I have not read Scarlet Pimpernel, which this story is based off of, I recognized the setting as reminiscent of the French Revolution and thought it was done very well. Galatea rebels overthrow a government only to become tyrants themselves. It’s not something I often see in YA novels. Normally the stories are about the rebels themselves and their fight against the injustices that plagued them but this story is about trying to save people from the revolutionaries who have lost their way. 

            I really couldn’t get enough of this book. The premise is one that I’ve always loved, a spy fighting to save the people against an evil tyrant, and in Persis’ case they weren’t even her people. Persis Blake is an amazing, well rounded character. By day she is the flakey socialite who cares about nothing but clothes and parties while by night she is the spy known simply as the Wild Poppy, who the citizens on both Albion and Galatea believe is a man. Because women in Albion can hold no real power, she works for the princess regent in secret to save many “aristos” and “regs” from Galatea, where the revolution is happening, who are being turned into mindless beings, or “Reduced.”  Persis risks everything and yet only a select few, not even her parents, can know how much she truly cares. 

Justen Helo is a young scientist from Galatea, running from his war torn country in hopes to find a safe place to find a cure for those being reduced against their will. He is constantly going between frustration at Persis’ flighty ways and confusion at her random words of wisdom. He still holds some prejudices against aristos yet he wants to save his countrymen from being reduced to mindless shells. Like Persis, Justen carry’s a dangerous secret that weighs heavily on him. It was interesting to watch him and Persis play off each other, each holding their own secrets and making their own, mostly wrong, judgments about the other.

 This book has danger, intrigue, romance, heartbreak, surprises and more besides that! It quickly gained a top spot on my wishlist and favorite books of 2014 list! It is a must read!

            -Sarah

 

Top 10 Tuesday (2)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Favorite Classics

Christina's Pick

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

    This was the first "classic" that I ever read and it made me realize that classics could be awesome! I remember Sarah and I read the first 6 or so chapters out loud to help me get started and I was laughing through most of it. I love this book *sigh*.

2. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

     Sarah told me to read this after she read it in a class and it was the first classic that wasn't Jane Austen that I fell in love with. If I hadn't read Austen first Collins might have been my favorite classic author.

3. Persuasion by Jane Austen

    Next to P&P I feel that this is Austen's best book. I just love reading it. It's more serious than her other novels and I just adore Anne and Captain Wentworth's story!

4. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

    Benedick and Beatrice. Need I say more?

5. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

    I used this book for a paper I wrote last semester and I just love how dark it is. It really goes into the consequences of uncontrolled science, I believe that it is a novel that's message is true for all eras. Plus, it's so cool that a 19 year old Victorian lady wrote one of the best horror novels in literature.

Sarah's Pick

1. The Complete Works of Jane Austen

This can count as one right? I LOVE Jane Austen so much I can hardly pick a favorite (but it's most likely P&P.) 

2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

 I first read this in a Victorian Lit class and just fell in love. The message it gives is so powerful, the story it tells so moving and I'm a big fan of Christmas so that helps as well.lol

3. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Also read for Victorian Lit, this was one of the easiest classics I've ever read. It was such a page-turner I could hardly put it down. The characters came to life in a way that I hardly see classics do.

4. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

I just read this a couple months ago (although my parents said we read this outloud years ago) and loved it! Pirates, treasure, and Long John Silver, where could you go wrong! Although I could only understand about half of what they were saying.lol

5. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I grew up with the mini-series so I was already a fan of Anne when I read the book. I love the scraps she gets in and how vivid her imagination is. And Gilbert Blythe is so adorable!

Classics to Read

Christina's Pick

1. Bleak House by Charles Dickens

    I wanted to read this after my family and I spent two whole days snowed in watching this mini-series. I started the book more than a month ago and I really got into it, but I haven't picked it up since.

2. Lady Susan by Jane Austen
    I've read all of Austen's completed works, but I haven't read any of her unfinished novels. I feel like this is the next step to being a Janeite.

3. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
     After reading Under the Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund I knew I had to read this book to find out what the original story is.

4. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
    I read 400 pages a couple of years ago, but the knowledge that I wasn't even close to being half done was daunting so I never got around to picking it up again.

5. Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas De Quincey

    I read an excerpt of this for a Brit Lit class and I thought it was fantastic. A lot of writers (and people) during the Victorian era were dealing with the effects of opium and opiates, so having a first hand account of De Quincey's personal experience helped me to understand the times a bit better.
 

Sarah's Picks

1. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

I've been trying to read this for years, ever since I read the Moonstone, because everyone keeps telling me it's so amazing. I've even started it three times but never got farther than a couple chapters. This summer I WILL read it.

2. Hounds of the Baskerville by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Something else I've been wanting to read since Sherlock Holmes got big again. I think I've read the first couple pages about four times.lol Although, when I was a kid, the Wishbone episode really freaked me out.

3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

I am not a Bronte fan. I took a class on Charlotte Bronte, read every one of her books and disliked/hated them all. Right after I said I would never read Wuthering Heights (after Christina couldn't even finish it) I saw a gorgeous copy at the library booksale and couldn't help but buy it. Now I have to read it.

4. No Name by Wilkie Collins

The Summary sounds incredible and I trust that I'll like/love anything by Wilkie Collins.

5. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

I saw the mini-series and thought it was great. I've heard that the book isn't as good but I still want to read it.