Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood Review

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles Book 1
Published: February 7th, 2012 
Published by: Putnam Juvenile

Summary: (from Goodreads)

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.  

 Review:

      I am always searching for books related to witches, because they're one of my favorite things to read about. Born Wicked was different than other books of witches that I've read because its set in the late 1800's, an era that I am not familiar with and rarely read books set in that time. With Born Wicked, I liked that it wasn't set in present day so that we not only get to know about Cate and her sisters powerful abilities but also the practices and traditions of the olden days. When girls were supposed to look pretty for their husbands and being smart was frowned upon.

      In Cate's home town of Chathum, the Brotherhood rules. Females of every age must be very careful of what they say or do for fear that the Brotherhood believes you are a witch and takes you away to an asylum or a prison ship. Thus, Cate is overprotective of her sisters and must protect them at all cost because that is what her mother told her to do. She must learn how to deal with the prophecy her and her sisters are most likely a part of, all the while juggling social gatherings and not fall for Finn Belastra.

     Cate's character starts off as timid and antisocial but very caring. The beginning of the book was a bit slow, as we get to know the characters and what happened when the Cahill sisters' mother died. Nothing too exciting happened. Later on, as Cate learns more about her role in the prophecy, she realizes she has a very difficult choice to make; get married or join the Sisterhood. This decision is difficult because all she thinks about is what's best for her sisters. As the story builds up, Cate's character changes as well. She becomes a feisty and mature young lady who owns up to her role of lady of the house and not afraid to speak her mind. This change in character was nice to see.

      There were plenty of plot twists and keep you on the edge events that occurred during three quarters of the book. It got good and addicting. Throughout this book you will put yourself in Cate's shoes and ask yourself; what would you do if you were Cate? I need to pick up the second book and find out what happens to Cate and her sisters!

Rating: 4/5  

Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby Review

 Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby

Published: February 28th, 2012
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Pages: 272

Summary (from Goodreads)

Meet Josephine Foster, or Zo Jo as she’s called in the biz. The best pint-sized photographer of them all, Jo doesn’t mind doing what it takes to get that perfect shot, until she’s sent on an undercover assignment to shoot Ned Hartnett—teen superstar and the only celebrity who’s ever been kind to her—at an exclusive rehabilitation retreat in Boston. The money will be enough to pay for Jo’s dream: real photography classes, and maybe even quitting her paparazzi gig for good. Everyone wants to know what Ned’s in for. But Jo certainly doesn’t know what she’s in for: falling in love with Ned was never supposed to be part of her assignment. 

Review:

Shooting Stars was a light comedic take on the world of paparazzi. The book starts off with 16 year old paparazzo Josephine, or Zo Jo in the beginning of the book when she is hunting down teen heartthrob Ned Hartnett in a club. She succeeds in entering and getting the shots she wants, where we are then introduced to the plot of the book. An accident causing Ned to enter a retreat where he can get away from the spotlight and find time for himself. Jo takes on the job of going undercover and entering the retreat as a patient herself, but what she's really doing there is taking shots of Ned Hartnett. Jo knows its going to be a dirty job that will eat at her conscience but she needs the money if she ever wants to enroll in photography school. 

Jo's time at the retreat is mostly spent around group sessions, bonding with the other kids, and attending outside activities that she usually finds lame. The problem? She's not doing her job. The editor that hired her, Melissa, constantly checks in on her wondering why she hasn't sent any shots yet which Jo brushes aside, promising that she'll send them in soon. Before she knows it, Jo is crushing hard on Ned and decides to put the cameras down.

It was nice seeing Jo becoming a better person throughout this book. She's smart and witty and definitely not your sweetheart. When she first enters the camp she promises herself that taking the shots will be easy and once she gets enough she can in and get out. No harm done and no guilt. But it wasn't the case and Jo warms up to her target, Ned and they get close enough to talk about their problems to each other. 

There were twists I didn't see coming in the story, but they played out to be a helpful factor helping Jo realize she can needs to stop and get away from the dirty business.What I didn't like was the abrupt solution to the problem. It didn't end as well as I had hoped but nevertheless it was a happy ending that led to Jo cleaning her conscience and knowing she did the right thing. 

Shooting Stars was a quick light read but definitely not memorable. Save this for a rainy day.

Rating: 2.5/5 

GoldenGirl by Micol Ostow Review

GoldenGirl by Micol Ostow

Series: Bradford (#1)
Publish date: January 27th, 2009
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Summary (from Goodreads)
Paige, Spencer, and Madison have it all: the looks, the connections, the money, the boys. As the daughters of three of the most prestigious families on Philadelphia's Main Line (read: old money, and lots of it) and the ruling juniors at Bradford Prep, nothing can stand in their way....except, perhaps, their own dark secrets. When an old frenemy from Paige's hidden past shows up at Bradford and plays nice--too nice--Paige is desperate to smother the threat. How far will she go to silence the truth?
 

Review: 

For fans of Gossip Girl or any other of the sort, you will enjoy this book. GoldenGirl revolves around the lives of very privileged teenagers who have it all. They skip class for mud scrubs at the spa and attend opening nights to the hottest night clubs. 

I was really interested in this book when I first bought it because the entire novel is written in the format of blog posts. Told from Spencer Kelly's (a relative to Grace Kelly herself) blog, we watch the drama unfold in their high society social life. Regan Stanford, the new girl straight out of rehab, starts attending Bradford Prep. She wins over Spencer and her best friend Madison, however it is her other BFF, Paige, that insults Regan every moment and sets out to make her time at Bradford horrible and drive her back to where she first came from. Unbeknownst to Spencer and Madison, Paige and Regan had a past before that led to one hating the other. On top of that, Spencer herself is dealing with guy trouble; Jeremy her ex is back at Bradford and is stuck between him and her current boyfriend; Tyler. Some catfights are about to go down.

A major problem I had with this book is the way the characters talked. They were fairly intelligent people yet the author makes them sound stupid and snobby with vocabulary inspired by Paris Hilton. Even the boys.. Perhaps it was to accentuate that they were rich and snobby however it would've been nicer to have certain characters sound mature and down to earth. For example; Jeremy. Another problem I had was that the ending was rather anti-climatic. It was obvious what was going to happen, a big scheme that as going to backfire. However, the event occurred so quickly that it didn't end this book with a bang. When I flipped to the last page of the book I just went; well ok that's finished. 
For a book with supposedly so much drama crammed into a book it just wasn't exciting when it ended. 

Although I did enjoy this book despite the major flaws. Its one of those books that you can finish in a few hours no problem and for a short book it was eventful enough to keep me entertained the whole time. Never mind the fact that I also really enjoy books filled with drama and rich teens that have it all. Did I mention that the story is told entirely with blog posts? Its a clever and unique way to write a book so that readers have a change when reading compared to the usual way a book is written.

I would consider reading the second book of the series, which is told in Madison's blog, however it also not necessary.

Rating: 2.5/5

The Liar Society by Lisa&Laura Roecker Review

The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker

Series: The Liar Society (#1)
Release date: March 1st, 2011
Published by Sourcebooks Fire

Summary (from Goodreads)
Kate Lowry didn't think dead best friends could send e-mails. But when she gets an e-mail from Grace, she’s not so sure.

To: KateLowry@pemberlybrown.edu
Sent: Sun 9/14 11:59 PM
From: GraceLee@pemberlybrown.edu
Subject: (no subject)

                    Kate, 

                   I'm here,

                             sort of. 

                             Find Cameron.

                              He knows.

                             I shouldn't be writing.

                               Don't tell. 

                              They'll hurt you.

Now Kate has no choice but to prove once and for all that Grace’s death was more than just a tragic accident. But secrets haunt the halls of her elite private school. Secrets people will do anything to protect. Even if it means getting rid of the girl trying to solve a murder...

Review: 

The Liar Society is a mystery book around a socially recluse girl looking to solve the death of her best friend, Grace. The main character, Kate, has become antisocial and detached herself from everyone around her. Instead, she prefers to relive the memories she made with Grace, leading to her parents sending her to therapy. She is told to let Grace go and start living her life happily. As she tries to listen to her therapists advice, she gets an email from Grace. Or at least so she thinks. The emails leave clues disguised as riddles which leads Kate on a mission to find out the truth about Grace's death. The answers aren't easy, and she later finds help from her redhead neighobr, Seth who has an obvious crush on Kate, and the cute boy who makes her feel something again, Liam.
I enjoyed this book so much I stayed up until 6am to finish the whole thing in one night. I highly recommend this book to fans of Pretty Little Liars or anything similar. There was enough mystery to be suspenseful and engaging yet there was plenty of humor to balance out the overall depressing plot and chilling events. The book is written with several chapters of flashbacks so that readers can understand what happened during the past leading up to Grace's tragic death.

It was really nice seeing Kate's character progressing throughout the book. In the beginning she was the reserved girl who didn't want to socialize with others. People around her looked at with pity which Kate hated even more. As events happen and Kate is fueled by the possibility of seeing Grace again, she becomes this strong and daring girl willing to do anything to understand Grace's death. You also see her opening up to others and actually feeling happy again. Her new friends are characters that I really enjoyed reading about too. Seth, her neighbor is the typical nerd who is oblivious to the bullying directed towards him. That's what I admire about him, he doesn't let anything hurtful affect him and lives life as himself. Not to mention he's dorky and a clueless at times which makes him oh so hilarious and the perfect sidekick to Kate. Together with Liam, the boy who you can't help rooting for to get together with Kate, they become her two knights in shining armor.

As clues were given and pieces of the puzzle were put together, through every step of the way I enjoyed solving the mystery along with Kate. The plot turned into an unexpected twist which I really enjoyed and it suddenly became multiple problems that needed to be solved; how Grace, who was in on her death and why? The ending was something different too. Kate thinks she's solved Grace's death but then she is slammed right back to step 1. Nevertheless, in Kate's own thoughts, she knew that she had changed into a different and mature Kate, and the new Kate deserved a new start.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery, humor, and surprising events. I can't wait to read the second book to this trilogy.

Rating: 4/5

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins Review

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Series: The Hunger Games (#2)

Release Date: September 1st, 2009
Published by Scholastic Press


SUMMARY (from Goodreads):
Sparks are igniting.Flames are spreading.
And the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel in the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before...and surprising readers at every turn.

REVIEW: 

Catching Fire was not as exciting as the first book, however it was still exciting and enjoyable near the end, as it was where the games started and she was quickly filled in on what happened to her home, district 12. In the beginning it started a lot slower compared to the first book, because it had to explain the situation of the districts that were currently rebelling and Katniss' fear of what she has caused. Personally I thought that the writing lacked emotion and impact. The author wrote so much detail about the rebellions and Katniss' thoughts and worries that she had rushed through the truly exciting part, the games itself. While reading about the dangerous adventures Katniss and Peeta had with their allies I felt that things ended as soon as it begun. Near death experiences were quickly followed after by the next morning, feelings were skipped through, making Katniss seem like she didn't even realize she almost died. Overall, the Games were not as exciting as the Games in the fIrst book.

My favorite thing about this book were the characters, I loved every one of them. Katniss was a three dimensional characters with many flaws. She is uncomfortable, awkward, and doesn't allow people in. But she is also fiercely loyal to her family and friends, brave, smart, and ultimately, good. Peeta is wonderful, kind, smart, well-spoken. He is everything that awkward Katniss is not; they play off one another perfectly. Their allies during the games, Finnick, Mags, Johanna, Beetee and others who were killed off early were the perfect combination of bravery, kookiness, and intelligence. Some of the characters made me laugh because of their unusual behaviour, and the death of others greatly saddened me. I was so deeply delved into the Hunger Games that I felt myself standing beside the characters and watching them die in front of me. Another thing that I loved about this book was the creativity and uniqueness of everything. Suzanne Collins really knows how to capture her audience and make them cling onto every word.

The plot twist and cliffhanger were the worst things to depart away with from this book. Both of these events just made me want to scream in frustration because I suddenly had questions that needed to be answered immediately. I was never a fan of books of the dystopian genre, however the Hunger Games trilogy is an exception because it's amazing. I cannot wait to go see Catching Fire in the theatres when it is released.

Rating: 4/5