Cured - Review

Review:

Being underestimated is an advantage, and yes, that saying is framed and hanging on the bathroom wall at home.

This book is a sequel. I highly recommend reading "Stung" first, but I will try not to give anything away.

This story is set in the same world but centers on different characters at first. In Chapter 1 we meet Jack. It is still dangerous to be female and survivors outside the city work hard to disguise females as males. Jack is really Jacqui, but the family has been pretending she is a boy, for everyone's protection. All of them would be in danger if anyone found out the truth. Jack eventually meets up with Fo on a quest to find Jack's brother and distribute the cure.

This book is as action-packed as the first one. It keeps you on edge, wondering along with Jack who we can trust. And it kept me guessing for sure. As much as I wanted to trust certain characters, I found it as hard as Jack did to figure out who exactly is "good" in this crazy world.

Recommended to:
Fans of dystopian stories, young adults and adults (like me) who enjoy young adult novels.

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1196542/cured-review

Stung - Review

Review:

I don't remember going to sleep. All I remember is waking up here -- a place as familiar as my own face.
At least, it should be.

Fiona wakes up in her bedroom, but nothing is as it should be. Her room is filthy and seems like it has been neglected for a very long time. As she walks around her house, she realizes it has been abandoned. Her reflection looks like her older sister, like a woman. Last thing she remembers, she is thirteen. She has no idea what is going on when suddenly she hears a noise and is attacked by a man acting like a beast. She barely escapes with her life. And all of this happens in Chapter 1.

We gradually learn that this world is barren & deserted and it is dangerous to be female. Fiona is constantly in danger and trying to figure out what happened to the world she remembers, what she needs to do to survive and who she can trust.

I don't want to give anything away. I went into this book not really knowing what it was about and it swept me off my feet page 1, Chapter 1. I loved Fiona and found her character very believable. The fecs and the beasts were scary and dangerous. The premise of the story seemed possible. I even believed the attraction Fiona developed for the boy trying to save her. And there is no love triangle, which is a relief.

I enjoyed this so much that I immediately stared reading the sequel. And I looked on the author's website to see if there would be any more, so I could know what I was getting myself into. Would I have to wait for book 3? Good news and Bad news. There are only two books in the series and the author isn't planning on writing more. This is good because I just finished the second book and loved it just as much. Bad because I really enjoyed reading them. But, it was a good place to end. The story was over. No need to push it too far. Not every story has to be a trilogy.

Recommended to:
Fans of dystopian stories, young adults and people (like me) who enjoy reading young adult novels. This one is worth reading.

Note: This book is on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award nominee list for grades 6-8. We often have some of that list in our elementary school for 5th graders. This one has some sexual innuendo. It might go over 5th graders heads, but I will recommend to our librarian not to have this one in the elementary school.

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1192380/stung-review

Skink - Review

Review:
          A missing girl, A hungry gator, Only one way out...

This adventure tells the story of a young boy, Richard who meets a rather crazy but well-intentioned old man (nicknamed Skink). Skink is hiding under the sand, disguised as a turtle nest and breathing through a straw. Why is he doing this you ask? Because he is trying to catch a criminal who digs up turtle eggs and sells them on the black market for two bucks each.

When Richard discovers his cousin Malley is missing, he is desperate to figure out what happened to her. Malley told her parents she left early for boarding school. But, It seems as if Malley ran away with a boy she met on the internet. Richard, with Skink's help, is going to figure out where Malley is and exactly what is going on.

This is a fun adventure story for middle grade students. Richard is determined to help Malley, but he is scared at the same time and makes some mistakes. Both Richard and Malley are likable and relatable. Skink is an outrageous character and some things that happen are definitely past the edge of believable. But he brings a certain levity to the story. Overall, this is a fun adventure/road trip story with some exciting, tense moments.

Recommended to:
There are some real edge of your seat moments that may be a little intense for younger readers. This is a good book for 6-8 grade students.

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1191834/skink-review

Reblogged from: It's a Mad Mad World

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1191828/post

Reblogged from: Jessica (HDB)

In case you missed it. And I promise to stop bombarding your feeds :). I just can't help it today.

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1190890/post