The Knife of Never Letting Go

Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness

Illustrator: Lynne Condellon and John Picacio

Genre: Science Fiction
Age: 14+
Pages:  479 (paperback)

Publisher: Candlewick Press

   
        A world where everyone can here everyone’s thoughts and feelings. Wherever you walk there's noise that surrounds you and never leaves. Not when you're alone, not when everyone’s asleep, never! Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown and boys are quite rare because every woman was killed in the Spackle war. The germ that the spackles released years ago had killed every last women. The spackles, an alien species that dominated their planet called new world, which is where Todd lives, were also annihilated during the war. Todd feels, rather than hears, an unbelievable silence, a few weeks before his birthday. Soon, he is told to run away from Prentisstown, but where do you run off to where there's nowhere else to go? In a series of events, the young boy must learn to trust people and accept the fact that everything he thought he knew was a lie! With an army chasing him and a girl at his side, Todd must make choices that may save him or destroy him!

        This was one of my most favorite reads! Starting with the writing style. It was so genius, because you could really "feel" the character. He had his own way of expressing himself and the writing technique used really showed how the characters were. For example: when Todd speaks, he usually says ain't or tradishun or thro. It did take a chapter or two to get used to it, but once you're at that point, it's really worth the trouble. The Knife of Never Letting Go had two major aspects that made the story so great.

        Let's start with the action. Even when the characters were resting somewhere, I was pumped up! The way that the author created this wonderful piece of art was made so that every event seemed interesting. It had what every great book needs and that's captivating your audience on the first few pages. The plot is very well thought out and so it wasn't hard to encourage people to read it, but to make people finish a whole novel can sometimes be a big task.

        Off to my second point. Patrick Ness is one of my favorite authors for developing characters. It's great that there weren’t many characters so he could really focus on the main Protagonists and antagonists. The characters, for me, feel so real. Like Todd can be so believable with his self conciseness and he's never sure of himself, while Aaron is just straight out crazy and sadistic. Even Manchee, Todd's dog, was a very believable and amusing character with the few words he said, or rather thought with his noise. One last thing, this book had a very very good cliffhanger right at the end, and I always like those because it encourages me too buy the second book and I at least know there's something in store for me in book number two!

        The only things I disliked was that the book really liked to go on and on about something as simple as running away. I understand the mechanics behind it, and without this anticipation you would get a very good result in the end story. Yet, it could have been reduced to one chapter of going up a hill and down the hill up a hill and down the hill rather than three.

If you guys want a book too read this is the one! I swear it's going to be well worth the 10$, so make sure to buy it off the link for amazon!

Available on Amazon

Rating 4.5/5

Recap on what's coming soon and why I haven't been that active lately!

Hey guys, first off I want to apologize for not posting much in the last week or so. You can all blame my exams coming soon, but I'll be done school in.. hmm 2 weeks time so if you can bare with me then your in for a treat!

What's coming soon?
Okay guys well, I have many books that need to be ready and I will soon Post a book review of the novel The Knife of Never Letting Go, so watch out for that. The second book two will receive a review and I will post many more reviews as I will be reading a lot this summer so get ready for 1-2 reviews a week at least! Alright so, for the big event, I have Reno Charlton coming on this Saturday to do an author interview. You really have to check it out because it's really interesting! Oh and Lita Burke will be doing an interview about how to create a book trailer which will be very fascinating. The date is still to be discovered so stay tuned guys!

George L. Soriano's Kickstarter Project!

Hey guys, today I wanted to introduce to you a neat project! This is a great way to help out a good author and actually be a part of the founding of a great novel! Depending on the amount you pledge you can receive items from a digital E-book copy too the actual soft covered book signed by the author!

What is George L. Soriano's Kickstarter Project?
The purpose is to raise funds for the completion, publication, and marketing of his novel. Here are links to the kickstarter project and the blog for his novel. A preview of the first chapter is available on George's blog.
Kisktarter Project Link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1406744043/sunhammer-the-adventures-of-madison-thornton?ref=email
George's Blog Link: http://sunhammermadison.blogspot.ca/


Novel Blurb: Kalen and Madison have a unique relationship. Madison, a teen aged girl, is the reincarnated form of Zhuron Zhang, an evil and powerful being from earth’s ancient history. Kalen is her present day guardian, charged with the responsibility of guiding her to the side of good. She doesn’t believe that Madison can ever be trusted or turned away from her evil past. But as they battle increasingly stronger supernatural threats, the more Kalen sees that Madison may be a last hope in the face of a looming apocalypse

About the Author: George L. Soriano, a writer living in MI, is using Kickstarter.com to help publish his novel and sidestep traditional methods. In order to boost funds and backers, George is offering Kickstarter rewards not usually associated with novels and print media. Some of his Kickstarter rewards include audio commentary and even a mini soundtrack. His novel, titled “SunHammer: The Adventures of Madison Thornton”, is an urban fantasy tale aimed at young adults. George offers a free preview of the first chapter on his blog.

Why are you still reading this? Shouldn't you be pledging a few pennies and dimes right now?

The Vampire Returns: Secret Portal 2

Title: The Vampire Returns: Secret Portal 2

Author: Reno Charlton

Illustrator: Sarah Higgins

Genre: Children's Fantasy

Age: 8-12

Pages: 178 (paperback)

Publisher: Createspace

        Jack, Simon, James, and Dean all attend Earls, where it's had its fair share of abnormality. Last year the four boys had found a portal to a second world. A world filled with angels, gnomes, witches, and vampires. Of course, as the title says, it was a secret portal and only the four buddies, as well as a few other friends from the other world knew about it. The portal looked liked an innocent adventure to a magical land, until a dangerous vampire named Gore, slipped through to the human world and almost managed to escape. The vampire sure did deal quite a few casualties and also left his mark. In this new exciting novel, the vampire is BACK! Without the help of the two worlds Gore may be able to roam the world freely and create havoc wherever he walks!

       
        Reno's second novel of the series was wonderful! She did a great job intertwining both worlds. I did enjoy that it contained much more plot twists then the first one. It was somewhat predictable, but not too the point where it becomes a bore. At one point I was actually quite pleased with myself because I predicted a plot twist, then I found out that another one was added and I was sourly wrong about my first prediction! The story is simple but effective. It can be read without having read the first book of the series, yet you won't get confused nor get bored if you haven't. Reno did an amazing job leaving some information out, and some might find that disgraceful, but for me it just makes me love it more! The ending was extraordinary! It summed up everything quite well and left the reader on a clfft-hanger. It's a very good method also used in the Harry Potter novels and many more!

        The fact that this novel could be read without having read the first one is a good thing. Although it seemed like the author assumed we had read her other book in the series and thus the characters aren't that complex and somewhat dull. If you do write a second novel and you make it a semi-stand alone novel, you must make sure to add in the characters qualities and flaws.

Sadly, this book lacked the "fantasy" aspect. Yes I know, what more fantastic can you be given then witches, vampires, and magical spells? My answer to that is: The fantastic world that goes with it. We couldn't and didn't see much of the environment and the surroundings. You cannot have a fantasy novel without the landscape to go with it! For a second and last novel of a series, this book was very well done. I really liked it and I encourage any young readers to at least read the first few chapters.

Available on Amazon

Rating: 3/5

This is the second book of the series. If you haven't read the first one ----> Click Here

      

     

      

   

First Interview: Reno Charlton!

Hey guys, I'm very excited because I'm planning my first ever author interview. This weeks author shall be Reno Charlton, author of The Secret Portal, and The Vampire Returns: The Secret Portal 2. You can find Review for the first book of the series can be found here. Now's your time to get involved dedicated readers! If you have read or are willing to read Reno's books, you may ask post any questions relevant and i'll pick a few to add in the interview. If you havn't had time to read her books yet then please take the time and ask a question of interest and I'll try to include them!

Dance Of The Goblin

Title: Dance of the Goblin

Author: Jaq D. Hawkins

Illustrator:  Regina Curtis

Genre: Fantasy

Age: 12+

Pages: 282 (paperback)

Publisher: International Waters

        The goblin race has been known to only a few and survived in secrecy. An accident of timing soon changes the world forever, brining the goblins and the humans on the brink of war. Of course that doesn't change the fact that Haghuf and Talla will try at everything to save their race's identity. With the help of their fellow human magician, Count Anton, they are brought to the surface of the Earth and are thrown into numerous conflicts they cannot keep at bay!

        Oh this wonderful fantasy novel, I do have many mixed opinions and feelings towards it. Of course I have to hand it to the author. The world that she has created was breathtaking. It was clearly thought of for a long time and the history behind it was splendid. It's really nice to get a novel, especially a fantasy novel, which will tell you it's race's history throughout your reading. The goblins themselves were very amusing and I'm really sad we didn't see much of them. By that I mean different goblin characters. I did enjoy their abilities that help them survive, or however you want to explain it.

        Mrs. Hawkins did a wonderful job with her characters. Well let's put Tala to the side for now, Haghuf and Anton's relationship was very relatable. They made me think of best friends actually. Both of them knew each other quite well and they always seem to have a hint of inside jokes or some kind of teasing at their disposal. Talla for some reason didn't stand out too me as much as the other 2 characters. For one, she made me think of a helpless princess most of the time, and she didn't possess the wisdom or knowledge that Haghuf and Anton had. The fantasy magic wasn't too much explained and it wasn't fairy-tale like, also the loose ends urged me on to read the next book. My biggest pride in this novel is how they related the "human world" so well. They described the humans as ignorant creatures who seek comfort in materialism because they have forgotten they were creatures of magic. I'll post the full quote at the end of the review but I found it quite exact to a degree.

        As for my disappointments, this novel seemed like a big documentary. Yes I did enjoy the history of the goblins, but it just became overly complicated for myself. The action was never present in my mind. The first few hundred pages lacked the engaging paragraphs that a good fantasy novel needs. I had a hard time passing that great brick wall of boredom and of course once the so called "action" arrived, I just couldn't feel it. (I'll be very contradictory in this review, so I apolagize for that.) As far as the romance goes, I thought that the author tried to put it in there but might have failed miserably. The goblins society has a mindset of surviving, and as for "couples" it's mostly only business!

        My favorite quote: ‘Because I never want to forget that I am alive,’ answered Haghuf. ‘That is what makes us different from them. They sink into the decline of routine for the sake of a safe and comfortable life, yet it is one without adventure, without that spark which makes us what we are. They seek comfort in materialism because they have forgotten what they were meant to be, creatures of magic, who perpetuate the chaos as we do. Now they are nothing. Parasites! They destroy all on the earth without thought for any species but their own because they have sunk into the depression that should have led to their extinction centuries ago, and they refuse to die because they have too much intelligence to allow it to happen. They invent ways of continuance, and entertainments to give it some meaning, yet waste their potential in everlasting toil and the pursuit of an illusory dream of leisure which they deny themselves for the very sake of working towards its possibility. They haven’t worked it out yet, but they have condemned themselves, all of their species, to the perpetual Hell of their own mythology.’

Available on Amazon
Author's site: jaqdhawkins.co uk
Author's Blog: http://indiewritenet.com/jaqdhawkins/

My Rating: 2.5/5

Gone

Title: Gone

Author: Michael Grant

Illustrator: -----

Genre: Science Fiction

Age: 12-14

Pages: 576 (paperback)

Publisher: HarperCollins

        Gone... This is what everyone is saying over and over in their minds. Everyone over the age of 15 has vanished in Perdido beach. One second they were standing there talking, and then "poof" they were gone! Soon mass confusion breaks out and Sam Temple takes it upon himself to take charge of the situation. With his small group of friends, (Astrid, Quinn, and Edilio) they run around town trying to take in the situation and what caused it. They discover that a round sphere has been placed around the area and you can't get out! They call it the Fays (Fallout Alley Youth Zone). A new rebel group of kids from Coates Academy (a school for rich yet "troubled" students) arrive and take over the town. Sam discovers that he and a few other kids have powers and he and Caine (the leader of the Coates kids) are the only ones with a four bar power. Soon mutations start to grow and a war against Caine and his thugs is breaking loose. An unknown species called the Darkness is growing and needs to be fed! Will Sam and his friend discover the mystery behind the Fayz?

        A compelling novel with a twist at every turn! Grant used his great storytelling skills to develop this amazing Sci-Fi novel. The novel Gone has a very original plot. I mean a town where everyone over the age of 15 just disappears, it's just genius! The way Michael Grant brought an un-realistic situation and the characters developed realistic response to it was very interesting. I actually believe that if this sort of events happened today, I would act in familiar ways as the characters. This made the story very entertaining yet not predictable. The characters inner conflicts are sometimes revealed but we see them more and more as the story progresses and it really helps us relate and get to know the characters. The Evil against Good was somewhat apparent in the book yet I did enjoy how they always twist it around a bit and at some point they don't have a choice but to fight evil with evil. For once, a great novel contains just the right amount of romance. Not enough to change the thrilling action into a boring lovey-dovey fairytale story, but enough to make you want to see how they'll end up!

        Ok... well as a reader I do enjoy if the author writes about more than one character, but at some point too much is too much! I didn't mind the chapters that switched too Sam, then Caine's thugs and then back Sam etc. Although sometimes you'd have Lanna's Point of View, which in my opinion was really boring and unnecessary. Then sometimes you had Mary's Point of view, again really boring. I do understand that those characters, or point of views were essential, but who cares about a small daycare center when Sam's off fighting monsters right?!

        To summarize, Gone is a very action packed and mysterious Sci-Fi novel, with tons of plot twist that makes you want to read more and more!

Available on Amazon

Rating: 4/5