nichole

The Maze Runner - James Dashner

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:45:29 +0100

Book Description (From Amazon):

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

Are you seeing a pattern here? I keep trying the 1st book of a series hoping that it will blow me away and I'll have more material to dive into immediately to quench my thirst for a read-more-than-you-sleep phase. So I picked up the 1st book in the Maze Runner Trilogy (which apparently now has a 4th book added). The concept of this story sounded intriguing, and it didn't disappoint. However, the language was annoying -- these kids who live in the Glade have a very different dialect - but only certain words. Their versions of curse words made me want to punch everyone around me in the face. This is definitely a great read for a younger group, but I enjoyed it enough that I will probably move forward in the series in the near future.

50 Shades of Grey - E.L. James

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 23:56:33 +0100

As usual, I was looking for a mulitiple book series that would whisk me away to another world and keep me reading until 2am. I saw this and read the back - it didn't sound too exciting, but I thought I'd give it a shot. I should learn to read the genre because what I thought was simply a book about a girl meeting a magnetic man was really an erotic romance novel. I guess we all have to read one of these eventually, and I followed through and finished every word. I don't have any other romance novels to compare it to, but I found it almost embarassing to read. I'm not shy about sex, but this book certainly was despite the S&M influences. I stopped after the first book and I don't intend to look back, but it was entertaining enough to get me through my vacation at the beach :)

Matched - Ally Condie

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 23:45:38 +0100

After The Hunger Games I was dying for something similar. I saw that others who enjoyed Hunger Games had read "Matched" because it was also a futuristic trilogy. However, this was extremely deceiving. It read as if it were written for a 5th grader (it said young reader, but this was excessive!). The concept was that the government chooses your husband or wife. They match you with the one person on the earth who is your perfect mate. However the main character ( I don't even remember her name) gets matched with 2 people which is unheard of. You'd think this would be an interesting read, but it was terribly boring. It was incredibly hard to relate to and the characters were vapid and one-dimensional. I did not continue reading the other 2 books in the trilogy.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 23:46:01 +0100

I heard a lot of talk about this series and I was in desperate need of some entertaining reading material over the winter, so I picked up The Hunger Games. I was not disappointed! The beginning of each book was a bit slow but the plot was addicting. I was extremely invested in the characters - so much so that when I finished the last book I felt completely empty. I wanted more! Shortly after I finished, I re-read the first book just to brush up before the movie. I expected it to be a lot more gruesome but it really wasn't bad. The focus wasn't on blood shed, but how the games affected the country, and of course who could count out the love story? I should have written this right after reading each book so I could get into more details, but for now it's enough to say I loved them and recommend them to EVERYONE!