Young Adult
In Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Karou has always been different. Her hair grows blue naturally, she has tattoos on the palms of her hands since she can remember and she was raised in an unusual home. The characters that she sketches in her sketchbooks may or may not be real. Creatures that could only come from imagination are actually her friends. Karou was trained to fight at a young age so that she is prepared for her “errands” that she runs for the creature who raised her, Brimstone. Now there are dark handprints burned into the portals that lead to Brimstone’s workshop and Karou has a feeling that something bad is coming. One night she gets in a fight with an angel named Akiva. Karou is drawn to him but doesn’t know why since he seems to be on a mission to hurt everyone she loves. Akiva is taken back not only by Karou’s uniquness but she awakens something in him that he had thought he lost long ago, Hope. Can Karou and Akiva find out who she is and why they are drawn to each other?
I really enjoyed Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It didn’t grip me at first since it starts off a little slow but once the characters are really introduced the story comes alive! Karou is quite the character. She is sassy, independent, funny, strong, the list goes on! I really like how she is exactly what you want a heroine to be. When Akiva shows up she holds her own against him even though he is much stronger than her. The plot is very different from other Angel, Demon novels and I found it quite refreshing. The setting takes place mainly in Prague which is so unknown to me but after reading this I want to go there immediately! Such an enchanting story and characters I would highly recommend it!
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Hearts: 
Title: Daughter Of Smoke And Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Format: Hardcover
Page #’s: 418
ISBN: 0316134023
Publisher: Little Brown
Release Date: September 2011
Reviewer: Megan
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
With the beginning of the year, Novel Reaction is excited to resume the Books-to-Movie Challenge. For January we are going to be reading and watching I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. The novel was originally released in August 2010 and is the first book in the Lorian Legacies series. The reading order is, I Am Number Four, The Power of Six, and The Rise of Nine (scheduled to be released in August 2012). You can read an excerpt here.
The publisher’s website describes I Am Number Four as follows:
Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real.
Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing.
But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.I am Number Four.
I am next.
The film was released in theaters February 2011 and stars Alex Pettyfer as John Smith (he also starred in Beastly, one of my new favorite movies) and Timothy Olyphant (who was fabulous in Live Free or Die Hard). I have posted both the book trailer and the movie trailer for you viewing pleasure.
I have to admit I feel a little behind the times since I haven’t read the novel nor read the book but I am excited to do both. Some things to keep in mind while reading:
-I have already heard that the endings of the two are very different, which do you like better?
-What do you think about the actors/actresses they got to play the characters?
I am excited to be starting up the challenges again, so pull up a book, a bucket of popcorn and let the fun begin!
Paisley and Beau are called the “Wonder Twins”, having spent three days in the woods and surviving it when they were six years old. In Pretty Bad Things by C.J.Skuse they survived to find their father in jail for attempted robbery and their mother dead. Because Paisley can be such a handful, she gets sent to various girls homes and schools. Paisley loves her brother Beau and would do anything to keep him safe, especially from their horrible grandma. When Paisley gets kicked out of school again, she heads back to Beau and ends up talking him into a road trip to find their father, who is out of jail. Unfortunately, they get caught trying to leave their grandma’s house and she sets it on fire to get revenge. They head to Las Vegas, where their father sent his last letter to them. Paisley dreams up a way to get on TV. so that they can try to get in touch with their dad. In this plan of Paisley’s, she robs candy stores and doughnut shops, but doesn’t take their money, just the food and leaves them a sticker with “Wonder Twins” written on it.
Pretty Bad Things has quite a bit of swearing and use of the f* word. It has some sex scenes, one of which Paisley almost gets raped. I felt I would not be able to recommend this book to most of my friends because of its content. I liked the story, but felt the use of the f* word was not necessary. I did enjoy seeing that Beau winds up in a hospital in St. George, Utah, where I grew up. I loved how the story is told from both of the kids’ point of view and that the print changed and it said the name at the top so you knew who was doing the story telling.
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Title: Pretty Bad Things
Author: C.J. Skuse
Format: Paperback, eBook
Page Nos.: 256
ISBN: 978-0545289733
Publisher: The Chicken House
Release Date: July 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jocee
Bloomsbury Teen is having an ebook sale! From now until January 6th, 2012 you can get the following titles on special price available on forms of ereaders. I have provided the links for the Kindle books because that is what I own (and will be purchasing) the book titles on. Novel Reaction has reviewed (and enjoyed) many of the titles, I have provided a link to our reviews so you can see what we thought before you purchase them. So while you are out enjoying your Black Friday shopping, you can have an ebook waiting at home for you to help you recover from the hectic crowds. Let me know if you agree with what our reviewers had to say about the titles.
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The Mark by Jen Nadol $1.99
Hubert Invents the Wheel by Claire and Monte Montgomery $1.99
Boy at the End of the World by Greg Van Eekhout $1.99
Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan $2.99
Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore $2.99
My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison $2.99
A Circuit by Georgina Bloomberg and Catherine Hapka $2.99 Review
Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker $2.99
Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey $2.99 Review
Pandora Gets Jealous by Carolyn Hennesy $2.99
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale $2.24
Things Change by Patrick Jones $2.99
Lily Dale: Awakening by Wendy Corsi Staub $2.99
The Declaration by Gemma Malley $2.99
Trigger by Susan Vaught $2.99
Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. by Kate Messner $1.99
Jenna & Jonah’s Fauxmance by Brendan Hapin and Emily Franklin $2.99
Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu $2.99
Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher $2.99
Ophelia by Lisa Klein $2.99
The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker $2.99
Mister Creecher by Chris Priestly $2.99
The Musician’s Daughter by Susanne Dunlap $2.99
Pirates! by Celia Rees $2.99
Magical Mischief by Anna Dale $1.99
Need by Carrie Jones $2.99 Review
A Boy and His Bot by Daniel H. Wilson $2.99
