Monument 14

I just finished reading Monument 14 per a co-worker's recommendation and I loved it. It's definitely not a book for younger teens, but I would recommend it to anyone 15 and up. If I had to stick it into a certain genre though, I'm not sure what I would choose. It's sort of apocalypic, but not fully.

Monument 14 Summary:
Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner. Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus. But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong. In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

Monument 14 Review:
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were all vastly different, which gave the story a type of variety that I usually don't see in YA books. Not to mention that the main character's voice was intriguing fun. I've been told that I have a dry sense of humor so my opinion might be biased, but I personally loved the protagonist's sarcasm. Although I will say that it took me at least 15 pages to figure out that the main character was a boy. The description doesn't let on, and we didn't hear his name until quite a few pages in (at least not that I saw).

I couldn't put this book down. In the beginning they were trapped in the store and I thought that the story would be sort of stagnant, but then the author threw in a bunch of other variables that made the story fresh and interesting. Personally, I'm not to fond of Dean's decision at the end of the book, but I'm looking forward to the sequel coming out next June. It should definitely be interesting.

Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff that Made Me Famous

A couple of weeks ago I attended a webinar that provides authors with tips on writing query letters, and came with a critique from an agent that I'm excited to hear back about. I'm beginning to feel like I'm almost ready to send Desiderium out to agents again. As always, it's a lot better, but who knows if it's getting close to where it needs to be. Wish me luck!

In other news, I'm working on outlining an idea for a stand-alone novel that I'm really excited about. It's a story I'm itching to tell, and I'm hoping that moving on to another book will bring me more luck with Desiderium. Only time will tell though. Onto the review...

Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff that made me Famous Summary:
Can a spot on a teen reality show really lead to a scholarship at an elite cooking school AND a summer romance?

Sixteen-year-old Sophie Nicolaides was practically raised in the kitchen of her family’s Italian-Greek restaurant, Taverna Ristorante. When her best friend, Alex, tries to convince her to audition for a new reality show, Teen Test Kitchen, Sophie is reluctant. But the prize includes a full scholarship to one of America's finest culinary schools and a summer in Napa, California, not to mention fame.

Once on-set, Sophie immediately finds herself in the thick of the drama—including a secret burn book, cutthroat celebrity judges, and a very cute French chef. Sophie must figure out a way to survive all the heat and still stay true to herself. A terrific YA offering--fresh, fun, and sprinkled with romance.

Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff that made me Famous Review:
First of all, let me start off by saying that the title is indeed a mouthful, but charming no less. At first I was reluctant to pick this book up because it was only 230 pages, which is rather short, but I was sold on it after reading the first couple of pages. This author's voice was incredibly engaging and fun.

I have a couple of protests about the ending, but I have to say that I loved this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun read.

Something Strange and Deadly

Sorry it's taken me so long to get around to writing this post. I've been busy with revisions, and I'm polishing my query letter, and trying to spiff up my logline to enter a contest later this year. A logline is supposed to be a one or two sentence pitch to let readers know what the book is about and hook them in. You may be thinking, it's just one or two sentences...piece of cake! Oh contrare. It's some of the hardest one to two sentences I've ever written. When I'm happier with it, I'll post it here. Anyway...

I recently finished reading Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard, which is a change from the types of books that I normally read.

Something Strange and Deadly Summary:
The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Something Strange and Deadly Review:
Let me just start off by saying that zombies usually aren't my cup of tea, but I thought I'd give this book a try. After reading 100 pages or so, I was hooked. It wasn't super scary or gory, and I liked the plot. It was engaging, too, which is always a good quality to have. But then it all went downhill from there. It was as if the author stopped trying halfway through the book. The writing and the character got cheesey, and the plot became rather stale.

Not to mention that the ending was such a downer. I get that it's a zombie book, and lots of people are going to die, but not only did everyone die, the guy she was falling in love with throughout the whole book told her he didn't love her at the end and went off to go to Chicago, never to see her again. Sorry for anyone who was going to read this book, but I had to get that off my chest. Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. Sorry Susan Dennard.