The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Summary (via the author's website): "Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.

In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety . . . until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.

Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated-and with it, order-and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim . . . and meal.

The Gladers are far from finished with running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Thomas can only wonder-does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?"

Review: I'm gonna say something that goes against certain principles I have. But... I really could have done without the kissing stuff. Like, all of it.

I know, right? I'm usually so in favor! But I honestly think I could have done without it.

It's fine, in and of itself. And taking it out would have changed some of the themes of the book, so it's fine where it is.

But as a book, I felt some of the kissing stuff weakened it a little. Like, not enough survival and fighting for your life. Too much taking a break for kissing.

Other than that, awesome book. Lots of nail-biting and intrigue. Love it.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, is-or-would-be-a-good-movie, is-this-a-kissing-book, my-kind-of-woman, thought-provoking

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His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

Summary (via Goodreads): "Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors rise to Britain’s defense by taking to the skies . . . not aboard aircraft but atop the mighty backs of fighting dragons.

When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future–and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire."

Review: With this one, I'm gonna go with... Horatio Hornblower With Dragons.

I really liked Laurence. AND Temeraire. And the way they were together... so cute! Um... as it were. So, y'know. Manly.

I liked the way girls were treated in the story. You can tell it was written from a modern perspective, because there were female aviators and little girls were (runners? I forget what they're called...) around too. But I liked the paradigm shift that Laurence went through, when he had to learn to respect women as capable military officers, and not just coddle them like little dolls.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, is-or-would-be-a-good-movie, my-kind-of-woman

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The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

Summary(via the author's website): "All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows.

While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time. In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy’s sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate."

Review: So, out of the whole series, I think my favorite running joke is how Dionysus doesn't know Percy's name (or rather, refuses to say it correctly). He usually starts out with "Peter Johnson" and goes from there, with every iteration turning out a little more wacky and creative.*

Anyway, this book was pretty awesome. The stakes were bigger, there were more gods running around, and it was definitely a nail-biting conclusion. Yay Percy!

Over the series, Percy's become a lot more confident with himself and the sort of things he can accomplish. Even though he's still kind of dim (which I STILL think is more a plot device than anything), there was a lot less of that in this book, which I really appreciated. In this book it was more of him being confused about girls, which I'm given to understand most boys are, so that was ok. :)

I haven't mentioned this before, but I'm very impressed with the prophecies. They're always awesome and cryptic and then make perfect sense by the end, and that is awesome.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book, to-own

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*Fun fact: It very much reminds me of Scrubs, where Dr. Cox is always calling JD by a girl's name.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Summary: "From a strikingly original voice in fiction comes the story of Artemis Fowl, a very unusual hero. Artemis combines the astuteness of Sherlock Holmes with the sangfroid of James Bond and the attitude of Attila the Hun. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories. These fairies are armed and they're dangerous. Artemis thinks he's got them just where he wants them, but then they stop playing by the rules..."

Review: So. Thoughts. I started this one on a strong recommendation from my sister, with the caveat that, "I didn't think they were amazing until halfway through the second one." (Which, admittedly, is kind of how I feel about Percy Jackson.)

I liked Holly better than I liked Artemis, so I'm glad I spent so much time hearing about her.

The whole thing felt rather like a "first episode of" something. I feel like the other books are going to be more of the Exciting Adventure type, and this is more of a Here's How These People All Know Each Other Type.

And that's all I really have to say about that. Oh wait, one more thing: I DO have The Arctic Incident on hold at the library, so, y'know. There's that.

Goodreads Shelves: fluffy, funny

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The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

Summary (via the author's website): "Percy Jackson isn’t expecting freshman orientation to be any fun, but when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears, pursued by demon cheerleaders, things quickly go from bad to worse.

Time is running out for Percy. War between the gods and the Titans is drawing near. Even Camp Half-Blood isn’t safe, as Kronos’s army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop them, Percy and his friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth — a sprawling underground world with surprises and danger at every turn.

Along the way Percy will confront powerful enemies, find out the truth about the lost god Pan, and face the Titan lord Kronos’s most terrible secret. The final war begins . . . with the Battle of the Labyrinth."

Review: So, it's never bothered me before, but it occurs to me now that Percy's not very bright, is he? Annabeth has to explain pretty much everything to him. I realize that this is kind of expositional, but it's also kind of annoying... Are most boys like that? Am I just more of an Annabeth than a Percy?

I can sympathize on the 'boy-girl stuff' front, though. Looking back, it seemed pretty clear what was going on for a while, as an outsider looking in, but near the end there things got... complicated.

I'm still liking this series a lot; I'm thinking I'm gonna go back and read it all in print, once I'm done, since so far I've listened to the whole thing on audio. It's got a good "read it again" quality.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book

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The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Goodreads Page


Summary (via the author's website): "When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind."


Review: Um... so, yeah. Intense. I was totally a fan. As aforementioned, I was really iffy about listening on audio at first. Then I got through the first disc and realized it was a good choice. The narrator was really good about keeping the voices separate (although sometimes I wasn't sure if Theresa and Thomas were talking out loud or in their heads, but the author was good about specifying, for the most part), and throwing in characterization.

The story was really interesting: the mysteries got wrapped up neatly enough to feel satisfying, while at the same time, more elements were thrown in at the last minute to still end on a cliffhanger. So I liked that.

I really liked their slang. It rather reminded me of Ender's Game and the way they talked at Battle School. In fact, the whole thing reminded me of Ender's Game... in a good way. (Not that anything could remind me of Ender's Game in a bad way.)

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, thought-provoking

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The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Summary (via the publisher): "In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?"

Review: Ok, here's my thing. Telling bugs me. In writing, they tell you to show, don't tell. So when I come across someone telling me something, instead of showing it to me, I tend to have a problem with it.* Like in this book. Mary, why the heck are you so in love with Travis? Travis is the Paris in this story; his only apparent purpose is to be pretty** and be in love with you. And be a total pansy, which is another requirement, if you're going to be a Paris***. I see absolutely no reason for you to be in love with him, besides the fact that you told me you're in love with him. That's it. That's all. Mary, what are we going to do with you?

Other than that, it was actually a pretty good book.

Goodreads Shelves: fluffy, is-this-a-kissing-book, pretentious

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*This, as it so happens, is the reason why I'm on Team Jacob. On days I admit to having read that particular series, that is.
**I assume he's pretty; I'm not sure why, but I think it might be because he acts pretty.
*That would be Paris of Troy. You know the one who started the Trojan War? Yeah, him.

NUM8ERS by Rachel Ward

Goodreads Page


Summary (via scholastic. com): "Ever since she was child, Jem has kept a secret: Whenever she meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die. Burdened with such awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. The two plan a trip to the city. But while waiting to ride the Eye ferris wheel, Jem is terrified to see that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today's number. Today's date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem's world is about to explode!"


Review: I liked this one... well enough. I liked it more at the beginning than at the end. I already knew part of the plot from reading reviews and summaries, and once I'd gotten past the stuff I knew was coming, I pretty much lost interest.


Goodreads Shelves: addictive, is-or-would-be-a-good-movie, is-this-a-kissing-book, pretentious, thought-provoking


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The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

Goodreads Summary: "When the goddess Artemis goes missing, she is believed to have been kidnapped. And now it's up to Percy and his friends to find out what happened. Who is powerful enough to kidnap a goddess?

They must find Artemis before the winter solstice, when her influence on the Olympian Council could swing an important vote on the war with the Titans. Not only that, but first Percy will have to solve the mystery of a rare monster that Artemis was hunting when she disappeared -- a monster rumored to be so powerful it could destroy Olympus forever."


Review: I'm really liking the Percy Jackson series. Like, a lot. They're well-written, the pace is good, they're funny, goofy, and high-stakes, all at the same time! I'm listening to them on CD as I drive to work, and they make the time pass incredibly painlessly.

In comparison to the other books, I think the Titan's Curse was on par with the first two. I liked the characters who were introduced, and I especially liked the character development of Zoe and her relationship with Percy. Basically, I can't wait to read the next two!


Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book, popular

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The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice #1) by John Flanagan

Goodreads summary:"He had always wanted to be a warrior. The Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways, made him nervous. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now fifteen year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't realize yet is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied . . . ."


Review: I liked this book; I liked Will's character, and I liked his relationships with Halt and Horace. I thought some of the narration was schmaltzy at times, though. I did like the pacing of the story; I like when you have the first book in a series, and you KNOW it's the first book in a series, so you can take as much time to tell the story as you want. I might or might not read the rest of these; we'll see.

**Note: I think my reading experience might be affected by the fact that I listened to most of it on CD, then read the last chapter or so in book-format.


Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, popular

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