Insignia Review

Review:

 

That computer in your head is a weapon, but it is a double-edged sword.

- page 103

 

"War evolves over time. It's better to say, 'No one kills in this war yet.'"

- page 105

 

"People are expendable. Period. The only difference between the nineteen fifties and today is that there are billions more of us expendable human beings."

- page 106

 

"All the technology in the world can't change the fundamentals of human nature. There will always be war as long as human beings are capable of envy, hatred, and fear."

- page 118

 

I love this book. It was highly recommended to me by one of my fifth-grade students. In fact, she repeatedly told me that I "had" to read this book. So, of course, I read it. And I am so glad I did.

 

In this world, war is fought in space and there are no casualties. The war is fought by teenagers with computers implanted in their brains. They interface directly with the ships to control them. But, the war is not between countries, exactly. Oh, there are alliances between countries, but the companies are really controlling (and profiting from) the war. Tom Raines goes from a nobody with a drunk, gambler for a father, to a highly prized asset of the government. And, for the first time, he belongs somewhere, he has friends.

 

I'm sure you can guess that having a computer implanted in your brain isn't all sunshine and rainbows. And Tom complicates it by being impulsive and maybe a bit crazy. But he is a teenage boy, so...

 

The story is exciting, with enough twists that you aren't exactly sure who Tom should trust, but you root for him anyway. 

 

This is a Sunshine State Award nominated book in the 6-8 grade category.

 

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1528352/insignia-review

Another reason to love firemen!

Review:

 

 

 

Joe Hill has created another amazing and creepy world, with realistic characters in a dire situation. Harper thinks the dragon scale that adorns her skin is a death sentence. But, it opens her eyes and mind to a new reality. She is a strong, determined character who has lived her whole life in her husband's world, but the infection changed that. 

 

I don't want to give the story away, so I won't say much. I loved the characters and the story. It's a long book, but worth every page. It's not nearly as creepy as NOS4A2, but scary in its own way.

 

I will say that one of the characters mentioned Christmasland and I shivered (so that book still affects me...).

 

Anyway, if you like Joe Hill, read this, you won't be disappointed. 

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1528346/another-reason-to-love-firemen

Unwanteds series

Review:

 

 

This series is fantastic. Imagine this, I read all seven books in a row. It's a relatively long series. I do tend to get bored after the first few books, or the quality drops and I give up. This series is worth reading all the way through. Loved it!

 

Lisa McMann is very creative and writes across middle grade and young adult. I also enjoyed the Wake trilogy. She just released another series that picks up where the Unwanteds series ends. The name of the new series is The Unwanteds Quests. Maybe the new series will answer the unanswered questions from this series...

 

I however, will not start the new series. Not because I didn't enjoy it, but because I have a lot of reading to do for school and I cannot allow myself to get caught up in another long series. Not to mention, book 1 just came out. So, there may be a bit of wait for the next one and I'm not good at waiting. I like to have the next book available to read right away if possible. 

 

Recommended to:

Readers who enjoy fantasy and adventure stories with loads of imagination. 

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1523318/unwanteds-series

Poignant & Touching Graphic Novel

Review:

 

This is a gorgeous graphic novel that embodies the immigrant experience. Because there are no words, the reader can decode the meaning for themselves. When the main character travels to a new land, he is faced with an alien environment. The surreal pictures make it so the environment doesn't look like any particular place. As the character makes his way through the world, he is faced with strange symbols, strange creatures and strange food. Literally everything is strange to him and to the reader. Because there are no words, I took more time to look at each picture to figure out exactly what the character was going through.

 

This is a touching story that can be shared with readers from age 10 to adult. Schools could pair it with history lessons. Families who move to a new place could share the book with their kids. This book helps any reader understand a bit of what immigrants go through. Highly recommended.

 

I read this book for my Multicultural literature class.

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1519899/poignant-touching-graphic-novel

Update: Explore BookLikes when works are on

Reblogged from: BookLikes

You've probably already noticed that the book search and the dashboard load don't function as they should. For the couple of days some of the BookLikes features came to a halt. The interruptions are temporary and all the functions will be tuned on again as soon as possible. We've also noticed that the problems are inconsistent and vary depending on the browsers. If you can, please do check your BookLikes on your other devices and retry on other browsers.

 

The repair works will be continued for the next several days and this means that BookLikes will have limited options during the upcoming weekend. We're really sorry for the inconvenience. We'll do all to make your BookLikes experience pleasant and valuable, regardless of the temporary obstacles. And, we cannot thank you enough for your support and contribution. This means a lot to all of us.

 

We are people of bright minds and happy hearts and we believe the solution will come quickly. What's more, we think something good can come out of this situation.

 

Yes, it's a good time to grab a book. Yes, it's a good time to go for a walk. But it's also a good time to explore BookLikes. People are full of habits and you probably have the same drill for BookLikes every time you visit the page. Now it's the opportunity to visit the BookLikes pages that maybe haven't been visited by you for a while.

 

Please note that the book pop up and +Post and +Shelf buttons are active. This means you can add and review the books when you click on the book cover. For reviewing books, please do check our recent post where we share review writing tips and seven BookLikes places where you can add a book to your shelf and write a review.

 

It's good time to go over your list of Followers and Followings (menu->Friends) and visit their blogs. You can look through your BookLikes friends, follow the ones who you've missed, find and invite new ones.

 

 

You're probably used to read the majority of posts on your Dash but with the limited Dash load it's hardly possible now (one more time sorry!). You can still view the writings, reviews and other posts on the public blogs where you can like, reblog and comment the articles. Just click the blog title. When you spot a book you like, click the cover and you'll be moved to a book page where you can add it to your shelf, add a text and view the BL community reviews.

 

It's also a great ideal to review the bloggers' shelves. Many bloggers use the thematic shelves to keep their library well organized so it's really easy to find the reads perfect for you, the book series you love or written by authors you appreciate.

 

 

If you still don't know whether to follow a new blogger or not, you can also compare the books. Click the stats icon on the blog page to view your books in common.

Note: If you're missing some graphs on the compare page they will get back once the works are done.

 

Instead of Dashboard, use the Explore page and Book catalog.

Explore (main menu->Explore) is a shortcut for the recent BookLikes activity. You can look over the Meet BookLikers sections, select language filter or the genre. To visit the blog or read full post click the blurb. 

 

 

Book catalog (main menu->Book Catalog), on the other hand, will show you an overview of the bookish picks by the BookLikes community. We're sure that once you look through the reviewed, bookshelved, wishlisted, read and rated books your TBR pile will just grow up high. Remember that you can +Shelf and +Post any book, just click the cover. 

 

 

If you crave for more books, visit the Giveaways page (main menu->Giveaways) and enter to win some brand new titles. Or add one of your own.

 

 

Other bookish places worth visiting include Discussion rooms, where you can join or create a group. You can also join one of the Book clubs, pick a Daily Deals and shelve a collection of books from the Reading lists.

 

 

We sincerely apologize for the ongoing situation and the reappearing interruptions. All updates regarding the issues will be posted in the comment section below and in the Bug report thread. 

 

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1517098/update-explore-booklikes-when-works-are-on