Where I went

So I recently started a new book blog called papertowns featuring YA genre book reviews and more. :) If you're interested, be sure to check it out! This blog is pretty much dead, but it'd mean a lot if you check and comment my blog here. http://thispapertown.blogspot.com/

Matched - Book Review

Ever since I’ve read Lowry’s The Giver and Collins’ The Hunger Games, I’ve been desiring to read dystopian/uptopian novels in the new millennium of YA lit. After hearing so many positive reviews of Matched from my friends (who are also avid YA readers), I decided to give Condie’s book a try. The author introduces us to another “perfect” uptopia. It shares the same likeness in The Giver, in Jonas’s Community. No one goes hungry, no one is homeless, and even love and death is controlled. With a premise like that, I’m sure it would entice a dystopian or Hunger Games fan, with a smooth pace and twists and turns in-between. The story moves at an incredibly slow pace. If anything, I would think the story would’ve moved a lot more smoothly. While Condie bypasses that nuisance of “insta-love” that keeps popping up in YA fiction, I found myself annoyed with the character development and the protagonist, Cassia Reyes. Her tentativeness in the book is understandable, however she is much too ambivalent to what/who she wants at times, with the resonance of Oliver’s Lena from Delirium.

“In the Society, students around the age of seventeen are paired to their significant other. Being paired with her childhood friend Xander, seventeen-year-old Cassia did not expect to see Ky’s face show up on the port screen. And, slowly, the two become closer and Cassia inevitably falls in love with him.”

From the moment I began reading, I was a bit iffy about this book. The writing is bland, tasteless. Condie tries to sound almost lyrical with the writing, though at times I feel as if the ending of chapters is abrupt and doesn’t flow as the narrative should’ve. I do enjoy the concept of Matched, mainly because of The Giver. Though the setting and characters don’t across as unique or original because of Lowry’s dystopian, the similarities of the book cannot be ignored from the story-line. Instead of making their own unique dystopia, many of the things are taken from The Giver.
The forming of Condie’s dystopia probably took place prior to the narrative, though there are many things left unexplained. Why do they have the Hundred Committee? Why did they get rid of all the artwork and poetry? What makes it so dangerous to hold onto a poem from the past?

Matched isn’t a story I would recommend to anyone (and this is coming from a fourteen-year-old). For those who are dystopian fans at heart will probably learn to love this story and see past its impurities and clumsy writing. Those who enjoy romance may like this story, despite of its slow movement. Of course, this is just my opinion. Everyone has a different taste and books and writing.

Erasmus

Recently, I decided that I should try and "revamp" So Beautifully Lovely. Many of the blog posts and pages are a bit scattered and disorganized. Lately, I've been babbling a lot of my projects . . . Many people have expressed interest in the world of Erasmus (originally titled The Prestige), so here's a "teaser" from a very rough blurb.

Young alchemist prodigy Erasmus Pennington has been living in hiding from the Shadows for as long as he could remember. Watched by these powerful dark creatures from afar, it was only a matter of time before Erasmus is beckoned to this imminent world of magic. Opened to this universe with new eyes, he finds himself crossing a perilous path that no dared to follow. Trapped under the avian curse that turns him into a feathered raven at twilight, Erasmus becomes determined to break the enchantment inflicted on him as he grows older. The Shadows have summoned him to do dangerous bidding around the world, collecting wyvern’s teeth. Chance has the alchemist meeting the inventor’s beautiful daughter “Gossamer”, a realistic automaton who wants nothing more but to feel beautiful, to be a human. Singing the same melody, the lullaby which haunts her, Erasmus soon discovers that Gossamer is under a curse as well. Travelling endless underground passageways beneath the Land of Alden, the two promise each other to help to break their curses.

Beautiful Darkness - Book Review

Here's a little short review on one of my fave book series, The Caster Chronices (a.k.a., Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness).

Last month, I finished Beautiful Darkness, the second installment to the Caster Chronicles Saga. Hot on the heels of becoming amongst the other up and coming YA novels to hit the big screen, I have to admit that Beautiful Darkness is much, much more enjoyable than the first book. Stohl and Garcia clearly showed chemistry in their writing collabing and research. The first book, Beautiful Creatures, was shamelessly choppy and is filled with unevenly written scenes. Beautiful Creatures was everything done in books before: guy/girl falls in love with paranormal creature/being, guy/girl does everything to be with him/her, followed by unexpected twists in-between. I have not really read any books with witches and true magic since the Harry Potter series. Beautiful Darkness gives a reader fulfillment and leaves all the unanswered questions in Book 1 answered with a few unexpected twists in between. Lena Duchannes and Ethan Carter Wate are one of my favorite couples in YA literature, and BD was thrilling! I can't wait to get my hands on the next book, Beautiful Chaos...

Long time, no post.

When was the last time I posted? Um, I don't know. It's been a while. I haven't been around much due to power outages in my state, but that is no excuse for not making a blog post in such a long time frame. If you read my post, I'm in love . . . and past entries then you know I have quite a few ideas in my head. And guess what month it is? Yup, it's that time of year! NaNoWriMo! For the novices, it's a hyphenated version of National Writer's Month which occurs every November. What's your NaNo this year? Share thoughts in the comments.

I'm in love . . .

In this new London era of futuristic innovations and anachronistic technology man once thought to be impossible, a determined inventor intricately constructs a replica automaton of his late daughter Amelia, in order to redeem himself from the void his life has become. Surprisingly, Amelia is personified with her own emotions and gestures, having the heart of a human being. Because of this, Amelia couldn’t help but feel attracted to the mysterious Brent, a boy trying to fend on his own on the London streets. Unsure what to make of these new feelings, the young automaton seeks help from her “father” inventor who wants for her to be broadcasted to all of London as the turnout of the century to our world’s history. However, Amelia refuses and wishes to be with her love, Brent—even though he is completely oblivious to her existence, refusing to let go of her hope that someday they’ll be together. Brent has been raised by the shadows, and with his dark energy he has been controlling machinery like Amelia, dancing automatons on his marionette strings. Other angry shadows of the night are taking over the souls of innocent commoners in seek of power. When this marionette finally breaks away from the puppet’s strings, there’s no going back. 

Dark shadows of the night are taking over our world.

Brent, a boy raised by the shadows, wants nothing more but to break away from them and to stop their murders of mortals.

Amelia is an automaton, but is trapped under an irreversible curse which Brent created. And only he can break. If only he knew how to break the spell.

PRESTIGE is a new take of paranormal romance, steampunk, and forbidden love. It may be my possible NaNoWriMo this year! Woot, woot!

Thoughts?

Opinions?

Dislikes? Likes?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

Bad, bad blogger.

Jeez. I haven't posted a post in forevs! School certainly knows how to keep you on your post. Soon I will come out with new reviews of the latest books! Promise. :)