Review: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Publisher: G. P. Putnam

Pages: 326

Received: Received from Razorbill Program

Release Date: February 7, 2012
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

My Review:

This book was absolutely amazing! Right from the beginning I was definitely in love, it's been awhile since I've read a book about witches and this one is the best one. This book was definitely an introduction into the world of Cate and her sisters, Jessica really has you understand what they are going through trying to keep their secret.

I really loved the feel of the sisters interaction throughout the story. Jessica does a great job of bringing to the forefront of what happens to families when the mother dies when the children are at a young age. It is a real feeling of the oldest daughter taking over the motherly role. The interaction between the sisters is definitely real, and helps you connect with everyone. Jessica introduces the characters and really dedicates this book to getting to know everyone and understanding how they work, this is definitely not an action story.

There was a little mystery added to the story as well. It was fun meeting all the characters and feeling like you don't know who to trust throughout. Everyone seems to have their reasons for befriending the sisters, yet you don't know why. Everyone seems to have their own secrets and you just can't tell who is really there to help Cate and her sisters throughout, it definitely makes for an interesting read! I am really interested to see where Jessica takes this in the next book.

The ending of this book also really took me by surprise, I was not expecting what came at all. Jessica sets up the next books in a great way, and I am excited to see what happens next. There were a few parts about the ending that I did not like and I wish that there were a few other things that happened, but I can't go into it without giving away spoilers. This is definitely a book to check out, with the supernatural in the olden times.

Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Pages: 479

Received: Borrowed from library

Release Date: January 1, 2008
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

My Review:

I decided to look into this book because it was a Goodreads recommendation, and I am so glad I did. I can now officially vouch that the recommendations they give are great! I absolutely loved this book! Patrick Ness's writing is amazing! The whole story is told from Todd's perspective, at times I felt that Todd was actually writing the story himself because the way Patrick writes shows that Todd is not able to read (a lot of the words are written in phonetics rather than proper spelling). As a reader you learn things along with Todd which is fun, because there is a lot of mystery to the story that keeps the story going.

The world building in this story is well done, a world where it is impossible to keep secrets is such an interesting concept. We begin by only knowing about one settlement, but soon learn there are many different places and each place has their own way of dealing with the 'Noise'. It's interesting to go on the adventure with Todd and learn about these people.

There is also a lot of mystery to the story that you can never really figure out. As Todd and Viola travel through each of the settlements you find out that nobody likes people from Prentisstown. Throughout the book you never find out why they are hated until you get to the very end. I found myself continually reading trying to figure out what happened.

This book also had a large amount of action throughout. I found myself enthralled at what would happen next. Right from the beginning Todd gets into a fight with another one of the characters and throughout the entire novel Todd constantly finds himself getting into intense fights with people. They are always edge of your seat fights and it makes the book so much fun. I found that they always came up at unexpected moments, but you do get a little breather between the action before Patrick jumps back into it (and he really does just jump right into the action scenes).

Patrick Ness also did a great job with the relationship between Viola and Todd, he has it slowly evolve throughout the book. With all the books I'm used to reading about this instant love between two characters this was a nice change to see not even a relationship in that way, it just evolves into a close friendship with them helping one another.

This was definitely a surprising read for me and I can't wait to see what happens next. Will definitely be finishing this series!

Similar titles:

Divergent by Veronica Roth
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Waiting on Wednesday (11)

Waiting on Wednesday  is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and lets us talk about upcoming books we are excited about.

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: May 2012

Synopsis:

When everyone thinks you’re dead, how do you start your life over again?

Emma Tupper, a young lawyer with a bright future, sets out on a journey after her mother’s death: to Africa, a place her mother always wanted to visit. But her mother’s dying gift has unexpected consequences. Emma falls ill during the trip and is just recovering when a massive earthquake hits, turning her one-month vacation into a six-month ordeal.

When Emma returns home, she’s shocked to find that her friends and colleagues believed she was dead, that her apartment has been rented to a stranger and that her life has gone on without her. Can Emma pick up where she left off? Should she? As Emma struggles to recreate her old life, everyone around her thinks she should change – her job, her relationships, and even herself. But does she really want to sacrifice everything she’s working so hard to gain?

I have just recently finished one of Catherine's other books and I thought it was adorable. She is an awesome writer. And the synopsis for this really caught my eye, I love this idea! 

What are you waiting on today?