Review: Ink by Amanda Sun

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Series: Paper Gods #1
Pages: 326

Received: Received an e-copy from the publisher through NetGalley/Edelweiss

Release Date: June 25, 2013
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Goodreads Synopsis:

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

My Review:

I was really intrigued with this book, the idea of drawings coming to life definitely caught my attention, and when I saw that this was set in Japan it made me even more excited to read the book. It took me awhile to finally get around to it, but I have now finished it and I'm a little unsure about this book. There were a lot of great things about it, but I found it took awhile to really get into things with this story.

I think Amanda Sun really kept readers wondering with this book, it took awhile to learn about the characters. I will say as a beginning to a series she left a lot open to have people continue reading what comes next. I wasn't the biggest fan of Katie at times throughout the book though, she is an interesting character but I found her decisions at times stupid. She is tough and fights back but at times it felt that she was trying to act tougher than she really was and got herself in some really bad situations.

Tomohiro was a great character, he had an attitude that brought some humour and yet he also had an emotional side that took some time to come out, and only with those he really trusted. If I were someone like Katie, I would definitely be curious about Tomohiro, he has so many secrets and he has this air about him that makes you want to know more about him.

I just felt that there were things in this book that dragged along and it took too much time for things to be unveiled, and then before I knew it the book was over. This book is really more about introducing readers to the world of INK and really just seeing the characters begin to understand this danger they are in, rather than being thrown into danger right away.

I also really liked that the relationship between Katie and Tomohiro grows, not that things don't happen exceedingly fast still (they definitely do) but these two learn a lot about each other that helps the relationship along. After the ending of Book 1, I would like to see what will happen next, though at the same time I'm not yet completely invested in this series. I'm hoping that we get more information on Katie in the next book and understand more about her involvement in all of this. 

Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Series: Divergent #3
Pages: 526

Received: Own copy

Release Date: October 22, 2013
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Goodreads Synopsis:

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

My Review:

I know there are a lot of reviews flying around about this book, but I just felt that I wanted to throw my two cents out there too ;) It has been some time since I finished reading this book, but I have been spending a lot of time thinking about how I really felt about what happened.

I loved DIVERGENT, and I enjoyed INSURGENT, but nothing prepared me for everything that happened in the final installment of this series. I had a few ideas of what would happen, but I didn't actually expect the actual ending to really come about. I found there was a lot of information that came out in this book that explained a lot about how the factions came to be. For me, I found myself getting confused with a lot of the ideas of the people on the outside, some of the explanations made me really have to re-read some things to understand exactly what was going on.

What I really loved about this series is the way the characters have grown since the beginning, especially Tris. I think in this book Tris is a completely different character and she has learned a lot about herself and others around her. The new ideas that come out change her views on the world but she is still the same person who loves those around her for what they are no matter what. Four got on my nerves a little bit with the way he acted when all this new information came out. I felt that at times he acted childish (in some ways I could understand, but it seemed that he was having a temper tantrum at one point).

And of course you can't not write a review of this book without talking about the ending. I know many people were very angry, which was a bit of a spoiler and gave me an idea of what was going to happen, but as I said... I still wasn't truly prepared for it, and yet when the incident didn't happen, I can honestly say that I wasn't angry and I actually understood why it had to happen for this story. For me, the ending really made me love the story because it gave me a different view on some of the characters and their motivations. I can see how the entire series was really leading up to that one major event with the way the characters acted.

Though there were some confusing things about this book, this may have been my favourite book of the series with the way things ended. I truly believe Veronica Roth spun everything in such a way that makes sense to me and though it was emotional it needed to happen. I'm sad to see this amazing series end. 

Review: Perfect by Rachel Joyce

Publisher: Bond Street Books
Pages: 400

Received: Received a copy from Random House of Canada in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: November 5, 2013
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Goodreads Synopsis:

From the author of the international bestseller, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, comes another exquisite and emotionally resonant novel about the search for the truth and unconditional love.

On a foggy spring morning in 1972, twelve-year-old Byron Hemming and his mother are driving to school in the English countryside. On the way, in a life-changing two seconds, an accident occurs. Or does it? Byron is sure it happened, but his mother, sitting right next to him in the car, has no reaction to it. Over the course of the days and weeks that follow, Byron embarks on a journey to discover what really happened--or didn't--that fateful morning when everything changed. It is a journey that will take him--a loveable and cloistered twelve-year-old boy with a loveable and cloistered twelve-year-old boy's perspective on life--into the murkier, more difficult realities of the adult world, where people lie, fathers and mothers fight without words, and even unwilling boys must become men. Byron will have to reconcile the dueling realities of that summer, a testament to the perseverance of the human spirit and the power of compassion.

My Review:

I have heard so many amazing things about Rachel Joyce's writing, and this book seemed like a perfect story to curl up and read with a nice cup of tea. I really loved where this story went, this is a story about a boy whose life completely changes in two seconds. You never really think about how much can change in such a short amount of time, but after reading this story you really see how quickly something could happen.

There are so many different lives affected by this one incident, the novel switches perspective between Byron and a character named Jim, years after. As the story progresses these two narratives begin to come together and you see how they connect. It's interesting to see how after this event, Byron's whole life changes and revolves around finding out the truth of what happened that fateful day. In a way this one event causes Byron to grow up so much faster than he needed to, and really shows what he will do for his mother.

I really enjoyed that though Byron is an awkward kid but his friendship with James is such an intriguing part of the book. I loved the way the talked with one another and how James really helps Byron through so much. The dynamic they have is adorable, and I really loved their scenes together. James is completely opposite of Byron and yet these two fit so well together.

The parents are very damaged and Byron begins to see the reality of the lives of the adults around him, and it gives him a different perspective on life. Byron's mother was the one character who I just wanted more of, it is her relationship with Byron that really pushes this story forward and that really changes as the novel moves on.

Rachel Joyce has a way to her writing that really makes me love her characters, Byron is so special and I want to be the one who takes care of him. How these two seconds change his life is so hard to get through as you see him struggle with so much. The ending is amazing though and really brings this story together. I really wanted a little more to one scene, but I can't really talk about it without giving too much away. Altogether this is a beautiful story with characters that really stick with you in the end. I can't wait to read more from Rachel Joyce!