Thursday, November 22, 2012

Beta
By Rachel Cohn

1.5 out of 5

In some futuristic world, human bodies are taken once they die, and remade into human like "robots" who then serve wealthy humans. Elysia is one of the first teenage line of robots. She is a beta model, meaning that there are still some kinks to be worked out. However everything seems fine with Elysia, and she is soon purchased by a wealthy socialite. But when she gets to her new "mother's" house some weird things start to happen. Elysia takes pleasure in the tastes of food, and when she is underwater, she sees a tan muscular boy, calling to her. These things aren't supposed to happen. What will happen to Elysia?

I have abandoned this book. I will tell you that I have no emotional investment in this book, and i think that the whole premise is just weird. They take dead bodies and bring them back to life as robots?? How does that sound appealing? I don't know. I gave the book over 100 pages, and it just wasn't doing it for me. On to the next one.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
By Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

3 out of 5

Dash is a snarly teenage boy, whose divorced parents both think Dash is staying with the other for the Christmas season. Lily is an excitable teenage girl, who loves Christmas, and whose parents have abandoned her with her older brother while they go to Fiji for Christmas. These two kids would have never met if it were not for the red moleskin notebook.
Lily left it in the Strand bookstore, in the section of her favorite author. Dash picked it up and followed the clues. Then rights some clues of his own. So begins an epic journey all over New York City as the two teens, who have never seen each other face to face, learn more and more about each other in a completely anonymous method. Both develop feelings for the other, but without actually seeing the person and talking to them, hearing their voice, how well can you really know a person?

This book was cute, and definitely put me in the Christmas spirit--especially when it is snowing outside as I read it. Personally, I liked Naomi & Ely better, but I think that's just because I was more like them than I am Dash and Lily. The story was fun and whimsical, as most things around Christmas are, but the message is clear. It's what on the inside that counts, but the outside is still important.

P.S. I am conducting the full swing of David and Rachel. I started with Every Day, By David Levithan. Now I have read their duo number, and I just picked up Beta by Rachel Cohn from the library. After this, I will be taking a prolonged break from these lovely writers, and explore other works.
The Maze Runner
By James Dashner

3 out of 5

Thomas wakes up in a metal box with no memory of how he got there or anything before the box. Next thing he knows, the box is being pried open, and tens of boys are helping him out of the box and into a whole new world. Welcome to the Glade. Thomas is baffled by everything that has happened, but no one seems really keen to answer his questions until he has had the grande tour. The next morning, Thomas starts his tour with Alby, the boys' appointed leader. But then weird things start happening. The next day, a girl comes out from the box. And this girl has a message: Everything Is Going To Change. Now Thomas is more confused than ever, but no one can answer questions they don't know themselves. Add in the Changing, crazy boys, and the burning desire to be a runner, and you're just at the beginning.

I personally thought that this book was pretty good. My dad didn't like it because he said that the book didn't end. But it does end, but it's also part of a series, so not every question is answered, but it definitely ends. I like how the boys have organized their lives, and I like the points of dry humor that are thrown seamlessly into the story. Living under such hard conditions, it is nice to see that the boys can still make some jokes every so often. I like Thomas, even though he can be a little irrational, and I like Newt (mainly because he's so obviously British), even though he can be terribly hot tempered.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Every Day
By David Levithan

3 out of 5

Every morning A wakes up in a different body. Someone else's body. For 24 hours, A lives in this person's body, trying to not disrupt or call attention, and move onto the next person. Everything was going fine until A meets Rhiannon. A instantly falls in love with Rhiannon. All A can think of is her, and for days, A disrupts the lives of teens all over Maryland in order to be with her. But how can a relationship work if you look different each day? If you wake up three hours from your love one day, and in the same time the next day. A can be girls, boys, happy kids, suicidal kids. Rich, poor, how far will A go to be with the one girl?

You can thank Sandy for this one. Stuck inside the house for a few days, I read. The entire time I was reading this book, I kept thinking, "I don't know if I like this." In my opinion, this book was weird. I have liked other things that Levithan has written, (Will Grayson Will Grayson, Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List), and I have Dash and Lily's Book of Dares sitting on the desk next to me, but this one just didn't do it for me. The premise is weird, but even if you can accept the premise, the story is still weird. After living hundreds of lives, with no issue, A suddenly wants to throw everything away for one girl he met one day. I don't know, this book just didn't do it for me.