Series Review: The Maze Runner

Title: The Maze Runner Series

Books in Series: The Maze Runner (book 1)
The Scorch Trials (book 2)
The Death Cure (book 3)
The Kill Order (prequel)

Author: James Dashner

Genre: Dystopia, Sci Fi

Page Count: Book 1- 374
Book 2- 360
Book 3- 325
Prequel- 327

Publication Date: Book 1- October 6, 2009
Book 2 - October 10, 2010
Book 3- October 11, 2011
Prequel- August 14, 2012

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Awards: Georgia Peach Book Award (2012), Charlotte Award (2012), Kentucky Bluegrass Award for grades 9-12 (2011), Abraham Lincoln Award (2012)

Source

*NO SPOILERS*

   The Maze Runner series by James Dashner is about a teenage boy named Thomas. In the first book, Thomas finds himself in a maze with numerous other boys. These boys have adapted to their surroundings and have become used to the daily grind in the Glade. But one day, a girl comes to the Glade causing a series of crazy events to occur in the maze. Everyone has to fight for their lives in order to survive in the horrifying maze. Throughout the other books, a bunch of wicked things happen to the Gladers causing the reader to stay on their toes to find out what happens next. Overall, this series had a captivating plot line and snarky characters that left you wanting more.

   First of all, the plot line was very engrossing. Everything that this group had to go through blew my mind. I tried to picture myself in the situation that they were in and simply couldn't because it was far too terrifying. Throughout the whole series, I wanted desperately to know what was going to happen next and why all of these awful things were happening. This series definitely makes you think and try to figure the source and the reasoning for what is going on. I loved that part of these books! The series is also full of nonstop action until the end of the last page of the last book. You will not want to put these books down!

   Secondly, the characters were entertaining and realistic. In other books, I sometimes feel like the characters act very unrealistically to their circumstances and completely not how they would react if it were real. This was not the case for this series. I think the characters, especially Thomas, acted accordingly to their situation. They also managed to have an amusing dialogue which kept me entertained in the few dull parts of the story. All of the characters had very unique personalities which I also really enjoyed.

   Additionally, I found the world and the head corporation to be interesting. This is hard to explain without giving away any spoilers, but let me say that I thought it to be very thought-provoking as to whether or not something like that could happen to our world. I think that this aspect of the series was my favorite because I just found it very fascinating.

   The prequel, The Kill Order, gave a riveting view of the world before the maze and the actions of the Gladers. I feel this a good story to give a feel of how the world in the story became how it is. I recommend reading this book before reading the other books so you can have a better idea of everything that is happening.

   In conclusion, the Maze Runner series is action-packed and keeps you on the edge of your seat to figure out what happens next. I recommend this book to action lovers and to those looking forward to seeing the movies.

The Fault in Our Stars Movie

This is not going to be a movie review or book review but those will come soon. I literally just came home from seeing this movie and it was absolutely amazing and I think that everyone should know. I saw this movie with my mom and brother and we all loved it but found it depressing at the same time. Both my mom and myself were crying throughout the entire movie because it was so sad but was only so because of the amazing performances done by all of the actors. Everyone needs to see this movie whether you have read this book or not.

Book Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher

Genre: Contemporary

Page Count: 288

Publication Date: June 14th, 2011 (first published 2007)

Publisher: Razorbill 

Awards: Georgia Peach Honor Book Award (2009),  South Carolina Book Award for Young Adult Book Award (2010), California Book Award, Abraham Lincoln Award (2013)

Source

*NO SPOILERS*

     Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is about a high school boy, Clay Jensen, who finds a box of old cassette tapes on his front porch. He finds out that these tapes are from Hannah Baker who recently committed suicide. These tapes are of Hannah talking about thirteen people who influenced her to kill herself. The tapes get passed around to everyone who was on the list so they can hear what they had to do with her suicide. When Clay receives these tapes he starts to freak out because he has absolutely no idea of why he would be on that list. This story was very engaging and kept me enthralled the entire time. The whole time I was anxious to find out each reason and to see how each person's story ended. The cassette tape narration was captivating, Clay's reactions to the tapes were spot on, and the overall storyline was excellent.
     The cassette tape narration was excellent. Throughout the story we hear Hannah Baker talking about the people that caused her to take her life. I found it very interesting to hear this because it is not everyday that we get to hear what goes through a suicidal person's mind and what they're going through. Hannah seemed so relaxed and confident in what she was talking about which was not what I was expecting at all. Also, in the tapes you could really get a sense of what Hannah was feeling while she was recording the tapes because her emotion was so clear. You could really tell how she felt about each person she was talking about and how much she disliked them. It was very easy to empathize with Hannah because of this. At some points in the book I found myself getting teary-eyed over the situations Hannah was put through.
    Clay's reactions to the tapes were very realistic. If you were to randomly find a dead girl's audio recordings on your doorstep you would freak out right? Well, that's exactly what Clay did. When Clay found Hannah's cassette tapes on his front porch he went a little crazy about what it could possibly mean. I found this to be very realistic because being associated with a person who committed suicide is a very traumatic experience. Also, once Clay actually started listening to the tapes he felt guilty and his mind starting reeling with possibilities of why he was on the tapes. I don't know about you, but if I was put in that situation I would immediately start feeling a great deal of remorse and want to know how I could possibly be responsible for another person's death just like Clay. I feel that the author, Jay Asher, did an excellent job of displaying Clay's emotions.
     The whole storyline was outstanding. The author, Jay Asher, is so good at intriguing his readers with his descriptions of Hannah's life struggles and showing how she dealt with it. The way Hannah felt about each of the people that were on her list kept me totally engrossed to keep reading. Also, since Hannah's tapes were so well done, I constantly wanted to see what Clay would do and how he would react to each of the tapes. The back-and-forth narration between Hannah's tapes and Clay's perspective also absorbed my attention to keep me reading for hours.
     All in all, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is a magnificent book. Hannah Baker's cassette tape narration was excellent, Clay's reactions to the tapes were realistic, and just the overall story was marvelous. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a sad story that touches your heart.

Book Review/Book-to-Movie Adaptation: Flipped

Title: Flipped

Author: Wendelin Van Draanen

Genre: Contemporary

Page Count: 212

Publication Date: October 9th, 2001

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Awards: South Carolina Book Award for Junior Book Award (2004), Nevada Young Readers' Award, Virginia Young Readers' Award, South Carolina Children's Book Award, California Young Readers Medal, The Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature Honor (2002)
Source

Flipped

Running Time: 90 minutes

Rating: PG

Release Date: October 22, 2010

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Director: Rob Reiner

Writers: Rob Reiner (screenplay), Andrew Scheinman (screenplay), Wendelin Van Draanen (novel)

Stars: Madeline Carrol, Callan McAuliffe, Rebecca De Mornay
Source

*WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

     Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen is about two complete opposite 8th graders who start to develop feelings for each other. In the 2nd grade, Bryce Loski moves in across the street from Julianne "Juli" Baker. Ever since, Juli is been crazy about Bryce. She always tries to talk him, play with him, and smell his hair. Bryce can't stand Juli and wants her out of his life. Then one day, everything changes when Bryce starts noticing things in Juli that he never did before. This story is very cute and easy to fly through. I devoured it in one sitting. While reading this, I felt like I was watching the movie because it was exactly the same. The two main characters, Bryce and Juli, were fantastic, relatable characters and the overall plot line was addicting. However, there were very few differnces between the book and movie.

     First of all, the characters were fabulous and relatable. Juli and Bryce's personalities both stood out but were also very different. Juli is the outgoing, smart girl who always is the first to raise her hand in class while Bryce is the shy guy who keeps to himself and is still trying to figure himself out. I liked seeing how Bryce changed from only seeing Juli's exterior to seeing her personality and kindheartedness. I think that this really built on Bryce's character and showed that he wasn't awful like his dad. Juli was obsessed with Bryce since the second grade for his dazzling blue eyes but realizes she doesn't really like him after really meeting him and getting to know him. This showed that people may not also be what they seem to be based on their apperances. I really enjoyed reading from each of their perspectives because you got to see how each of them looked at the same situation with a different view of how it happened. For example, Juli thinks that she is being neighborly but Bryce thinks she is trying to constantly trying to weasel her way into his life. I thought it was interesting to see how Bryce and Juli saw each other very differently than how they saw themselves. One of the worst parts of me seeing the movie before reading the book is that I kept imagining the movie actor instead of how the character was described in the book. In the book, Bryce has bright blue eyes and dark hair but in the movie he had blonde hair and dark eyes, so while I was reading I kept seeing this.

Bryce Loski

I am kind of disappointed how in the book Juli is constantly talking about Bryce's perfect blue eyes but in the movie he has brown eyes.





     Secondly, the storyline was addicting. It was really cute to see Bryce and Juli's relationship grow throughout the years. In most stories, you only get to see the character's relationship for a short period of time, but in Flipped you get to see the characters grow over several years. Bryce and Juli had to overcome a few obstacles that came from them being awkward teenagers. I really liked the story because it was relatable. We all go through that stage in our life when you start developing feelings for others that you don't know what to do with. This book was just that. Bryce and Juli go through a series of awkward confrontations and conversations that were just very enjoyable to read. However, I wish there was more of an ending. The book seemed to end kind of abruptly, but I guess that's what happens with a book so short. Also, the movie was almost exactly the same as the book. This was awesome but I wish I had read the book before I watched the movie because I knew exactly what was going to happen next because the book was the exact same as the movie. I guess that's a good thing right?
     All in all, both the Flipped book and movie were excellent! The characters were cute and relatable and the story was addicting. I definetly recommend this book to anyone in the need of a fast, cute read.

Book Review: Extras

Title: Extras

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Genre: Dystopian/Sci-Fi

Page Count: 417

Publication Date: October 2nd, 2007

Publisher: Simon Pulse

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*NO SPOILERS*

     Extras by Scott Westerfeld is a companion novel to the Uglies trilogy, takes place three years after Tally Youngblood took down the Specials, and  follows a fifteen-year-old named Aya Fuse. Aya lives in a city where everyone is given face ranks instead of being classified as an ugly, pretty, or special. Face ranks are your popularity status. You can build your face rank by kicking, our modern day blogging, an interesting story that the whole world can see. The more people that see your story, the higher your face rank gets. Aya is an extra, meaning her face rank is 451,396 out of a city with a population on 1,000,000 people, and wants desperately to be popular. She tries to kick cool stories but no one ever notices them. While sneaking into a popular party, Aya stumbles upon the Sly Girls, a clique that does crazy stunts but tries their best to stay unnoticed. Aya decides to follow them, along with her hovercam, Moggle, to get shots of them in action so she can kick a never-before-seen story. This story is full of twists and turns and kept me hooked the entire time. I enjoyed the world, the characters, the storyline, and the references to characters from the original trilogy.

     First of all, I loved the world. I was fascinated by the idea of judging people based on how popular they were and how many times their name was mentioned. I think that this is somewhat relatable to our society today because we tend to judge people on their appearance and make assumptions about celebrities based on what we hear through gossip. This is shown in the story through kicks about famous people that aren't true but are popular because they're famous. Also, I, once again, really liked the technologies used in this world. I think that the hovercams were really cool and that they were able to follow you around anywhere you go and find you when it gets lost.

     Secondly, I appreciated the relatable characters. Let's face it; all of us have wanted to be famous or popular at some point in our life and Aya is just like that. Plus, she isn't just sitting around complaining that she wants to be famous like the rest of us, she actually puts forth the effort to become famous and takes risks. I really admired that in her. However, there were some times when she was whining and complaining that she would never be famous which annoyed me. Also, Aya was very persistent to kick a popular story and did anything and everything she had to do to do so. Another character that stood out to me was Frizz. Frizz is the creator of a new clique entitled Radical Honesty. In this clique, everyone tells the truth all of the time and doesn't have the ability to lie. Frizz is very pleased with his invention but his also frustrated by it a lot. The downside of telling the truth all of the time is that you can't keep any secrets which creates difficulties later on in the story. I found this aspect of Frizz's character made him strong and showed his wanting to be a better person.

     Thirdly, the storyline was thrilling and engaging. Throughout the story, Aya was constantly on the look out for something kickable. This led her to take a few risks to get to where she wanted to be. I loved reading about Aya's adventures and how the little things she did created a scenario much bigger than she ever would've imagined. The Sly Girls, a clique that Aya tries to get shots of to kick, do so many insane stunts that I was engaged in the story and couldn't stop reading. One example of these stunts is jumping onto a moving train. I was so worried for not only Aya, but the Sly Girls as well. This part reminded me a bit of the Dauntless from Divergent by Veronica Roth.

     Lastly, I enjoyed seeing the characters from the previous trilogy weave their way into this story. Tally, Shay, and Fausto come back to deal with the Special Circumstance that Aya has created. I really liked seeing Tally again because it was interesting to hear about her through another person's perspective. The people from Aya's city learn about Tally and the other Cutters in their history class and it was weird to see how Aya worshipped them. Also, it was cool to see how far Tally has grown into a strong and confident person. Although Tally still has trouble overcoming the brain damage she received from being a Special, she was still able to function properly without having any random fits of anger. 

     All in all, Extras by Scott Westerfeld was a wonderful read and I would definitely recommend it to everyone who has read the Uglies trilogy. The world was fantastic, the characters were relatable, and the story was full of action.

P.S  To make it easier to follow my blog, I created a Bloglovin' account. This is a fun way to follow blogs that you love. Plus, you don't have to have a blog to be a part of it. 

Book Review: Specials

Title: Specials

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Genre: Dystopian/Sci-Fi

Page Count: 372

Publication Date: September 2007 (first published May 9th, 2006)

Publisher: Scholastic

Source

*WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

     Specials by Scott Westerfeld is the third and final book in the Uglies trilogy. This book follows Tally Youngblood's journey as a dreaded special. Specials are the equivalent to our modern day police. They have razor-sharp teeth, body modifications to make them lethal, and extremely high-tech technology. Dr. Cable has finally managed to turn Tally into a special so she can use her for her own purposes. As members of Special Circumstances, Tally and Shay must hunt down the New Smoke and stop them from curing the pretties. This book is action-packed, delivers a significant message, and is an excellent conclusion to the trilogy.

     First of all the story was action-packed. The beginning of the story starts off with Tally, Shay, and Fausto, the Cutters, running after some members of the New Smoke, a group of people who choose to live in the wild instead of living in the luxurious city. This opening scene instantly hooked me. Both the Cutters and the New Smoke were using a technology, called a sneak suit, to blend in with their surroundings so one couldn't see the other. As I have mentioned before, I love this technology! Also, throughout the story Tally and Shay are on a wild chase to capture the New Smoke and stop them from curing the pretties. During this journey, Tally tries to get over her ex-boyfriend, Zane, and move on to become a better special. I found this part very annoying. Tally was constantly watching Zane and questioning his wellness. She kept telling herself that she didn't need him but deep inside she really did. I kept thinking to myself,"Get over him already! Do what you need to do, you don't need to be so obsessed with him." Besides that, I liked how Tally went through, yet another, stage of finding her true identity during that adventure. I don't know why but I really love seeing characters build into fantastic people. Additionally, I enjoyed the city of Diego. I found it interesting how the people living there were constantly changing their style and trying out crazy fashion trends. I was really enthralled by the scene where Tally was locked up by the Diego doctors. I was in suspense to find out Tally's fate and how she was going to get out of the situation. In addition, I thought it was unrealistic that a small prank that Tally and Shay pulled could start a huge war between cities. I know that Dr. Cable took advantage of the situation to create the war, but in reality I don't think that people would be so stupid to go into waging a war. The war, however, was interesting to read about.

     Secondly, the story left an important message. The story ended with Tally defeating Special Circumstances and ending the rain of brain damage. Tally and David leave a letter behind stating that they don't think that anyone needs them to do the saving anymore and that the city civilians shouldn't be completely free because "freedom has a way of destroying things". I really appreciated the ending because it shows that people don't need to be dependent on others to do all of the heavy lifting for them and that people are fully able to survive and thrive on their own. I also believe that the phrase "freedom has a way of destroying things" is true because if you leave the population with no set of rules or laws and let them run free, they will find a way do stupid things and endanger the people around them. Also, the whole trilogy centers around how outer beauty is more important than inner beauty which is later proved false. This dystopian city gives everyone plastic surgery and messes with his/her brain when they turn sixteen to make them "pretty". Later on in this last book, Tally stops the city from doing this operation to prove that the world can survive without cosmetic surgeries and brain-dead people.

     All in all, this book was excellent! The story was very action-packed and left a significant message for readers. I am sad that this trilogy is over but I am looking forward to moving on the companion novel Extras. I recommend this series to people who like stories about alternate realities and science fiction.

Book Review: Pushing the Limits

Title: Pushing the Limits

Author: Katie McGarry

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Page Count: 416

Publication Date: July 31, 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Awards: 2013 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewers Choice Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel
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*NO SPOILERS*

     Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry is about two complicated teenagers, Echo Emerson and Noah Hutchkins, who's lives intertwine in the most unexpected way. Echo has no memory of what happened one terrible night when she went from popular girl with a jock boyfriend to the school freak with gross scars on her arms. Also, her home life is very complicated. Her mom is bipolar while her dad and stepmom are very strict on her and don't allow her to do what she wants. Noah is the school bad boy who everyone tries too avoid. Noah has a reputation of using girls and being a druggie. One day after an intense session of therapy, Echo is forced to tutor Noah and their relationship builds from there. Noah and Echo go through a journey of self-discovery together and realize that their lives can be healed over time. This book had very well-thought-out characters, touched very deep topics, and a storyline that wouldn't let me put the book down and left me in awe. 

      First of all, this book had excellent well-thought-out characters. Echo struggles with depression after her brother died and her mom is placed under a restraining order. She has to live through the strict conditions of her dad and stepmom while trying to keep herself happy. Throughout the course of the story, Echo tries to remember what happened to her that awful night. I thought that this part of the story really helped show Echo's character by exposing her determination that she didn't even know she had. I found that Echo was a very insecure character but I liked it because I think that some people will be able to relate to her. Also, Echo competes with her inner conscience to decide whether to stay with her jerk boyfriend from her past or to trust her newfound feelings for the bad boy, Noah. This, I feel, helped build her self-trust and showed that she didn't care what the other students thought of her after hiding in the shadows for so long. Noah has a different, but at the same time similar, situation to deal with. He has a reputation he has to live with at school but he also has to face being a foster child and not being able to see his two younger brothers. This revealed Noah's love of his brothers and his persistence to get his brothers back. He is a very strong character who copes with his own lack of self-confidence as well as the pressure that others put him under. I think that Echo and Noah fit very well together and worked great together to conquer their issues.

     Also, this book discusses some very deep and serious real-world problems. For example, Noah had to live with an abusive foster father. I think that issues, such as child abuse, don't get talked about a lot in young adult literature. Also, Echo's boyfriend, on several occasions, tried to pressure into having sex. This was a big issue Echo had to deal with throughout the story. She was conflicted with not doing it , upsetting her boyfriend and staying a virgin forever and doing it just for the sake of satisfying her boyfriend. This happens in the real-world and I don't think that people at such a young age should be pressured into having sex just for "bragging rights". 

     Lastly, this book had a storyline that hooked me and left me in awe. The relationship between Echo and Noah kept me engaged the whole time. Noah and Echo were an unlikely couple but worked perfectly. They comforted each other through each other's time of need and helped each other other find the secrets to their past. The dual perspectives really helped deliver the full effect of the story. Both Echo and Noah had very different train of thoughts and I really enjoyed reading from both of their perspectives. The beginning of the story was a little slow but it gradually picked up the pace. I think that the pacing of the story worked really well.

   Overall, Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry was amazing. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good contemporary novel. I went into this expecting a light fluffy romance, and there was a good majority of romance, but it wasn't completely focused on the romance and more on self-discovery. It still greatly satisfied me!