Review: Parasite - Mira Grant

Parasite (Parasitology, #1) by Mira Grant

Publication Date: October 29th, 2013

Pages: 504

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis

A decade in the future, humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease.

We owe our good health to a humble parasite - a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the tapeworm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system - even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them.

But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives...and will do anything to get them

I've had this book on my to-read list for AGES and honestly I regret not having read it sooner! It started out a bit slow for me because there was a lot of information that was being given. In the beginning I felt a little confused by the excerpts of certain character's biographies or interviews but eventually I got used to it and it didn't feel like such a break in the plot.

So, the story follows Sally, or Sal as she prefers now to be called who was the first and, so far, the only person to recover from being brain dead thanks to her SymbioGen implant. It has been now 6 years and she has had to learn how to walk, talk and just how society works but one thing that never came back was her memory from before the accident.

Like I said before, I felt the pacing might have been a little weird since at first it moves very slowly and then everything seems to start happening at once, but then again, that could have been done on purpose.

One of the things I was most fascinated by was the little snippets of the children's book Don't Go Out Alone (which, sadly, doesn't actually exist...a complete shame since I REALLY wanted to read it). It was interesting and mysterious but it still had that very creepy nursery rhyme feel to it. 

Also, I felt like the author was able to create a believable world and as the story progresses I felt myself getting more and more drawn to it. It was a really interesting read and it's full of twists and turns. One of them I figured out quite early on, but I'm sure that was the point.

All in all, I quite liked the book and I'm glad there's at least two more in the series!

Find it at The Book Depository!

Review: 10 Things I Can See From Here - Carrie Mac

10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac

Publication Date: February 28th, 2017

Pages: 320

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis

Perfect for fans of Finding Audrey and Everything, Everything, this is the poignant and uplifting story of Maeve, who is dealing with anxiety while falling in love with a girl who is not afraid of anything.

Think positive.

Don’t worry; be happy.

Keep calm and carry on.

Maeve has heard it all before. She’s been struggling with severe anxiety for a long time, and as much as she wishes it was something she could just talk herself out of, it’s not. She constantly imagines the worst, composes obituaries in her head, and is always ready for things to fall apart. To add to her troubles, her mom—the only one who really gets what Maeve goes through—is leaving for six months, so Maeve will be sent to live with her dad in Vancouver.

Vancouver brings a slew of new worries, but Maeve finds brief moments of calm (as well as even more worries) with Salix, a local girl who doesn’t seem to worry about anything. Between her dad’s wavering sobriety, her very pregnant stepmom insisting on a home birth, and her bumbling courtship with Salix, this summer brings more catastrophes than even Maeve could have foreseen. Will she be able to navigate through all the chaos to be there for the people she loves?

My Thoughts

First of all, I got this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Maeve, the main character, has to temporarily move in with her father, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, her very pregnant stepmother and twin stepbrothers while her mom travels to Haiti with her new older boyfriend to work at a clinic. On top of that, she has to deal with severe anxiety.

I actually liked Maeve as a character. She could get a little bit intense, as her brain kept coming up with deadly scenarios and I definitely started feeling secondhand anxiety over her. I guess that was the point though.

Another thing that I quite liked was the relatonionship between Maeve, her stepmother and her siblings. It's refreshing to see such an healthy relationship. Maeve cared a lot about her brothers and Claire. And they all cared about her too. I just wished her parents weren't so opposed to giving her medication. Some times it's necessary and it was obvious that the therapy alone wasn't helping, so it seemed a little cruel to make her go through it.

Maeve meets a girl and she falls for her. Her name is Salix and she plays the violin. I feel like their relationship could have been a little more developed, it all felt a little rushed, but then again, they're teenagers so I guess we can give them a little discount.

All in all it was a very nice read and it was very easy and quick to read.

You can find it at The Book Depository and Goodreads

Review: Optimists Die First - Susin Nielsen

Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen

Publication Date: February 21st, 2017

Pages: 224

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis

Beware: Life ahead.

Sixteen-year-old Petula de Wilde is anything but wild. A former crafting fiend with a happy life, Petula shut herself off from the world after a family tragedy. She sees danger in all the ordinary things, like crossing the street, a bug bite, or a germy handshake. She knows: life is out to get you.

The worst part of her week is her comically lame mandatory art therapy class with a small group of fellow misfits. Then a new boy, Jacob, appears at school and in her therapy group. He seems so normal and confident, though he has a prosthetic arm; and soon he teams up with Petula on a hilarious project, gradually inspiring her to let go of some of her fears. But as the two grow closer, a hidden truth behind why he’s in the group could derail them, unless Petula takes a huge risk. . .

My Thoughts

First of all, I have to say I got this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley, Wendy Lamb Books and Random House Children's.
The moment I saw the cover I was hooked, to be honest. And I'm so glad I read this book!

I think that what I liked the most was how real all the characters felt. They all had their own lives and their own personalities and things going on, you could tell they weren't just there. I am also a sucker for a group of misfits who ends up bonding and becoming friends and this book delivered! It was good to see how everyone sort of grew up throughout the book.

I'm a nearly-certified cat lady so this book was right up my alley! Mix that with some serious funny writing and dialogue and you get a book that you read in no time. It all felt very quirky and sometimes dorky but it did deal with some serious issues like guilt, grief...stealthy cat turds (someone should take Anne of Green Gables to a vet, she has a problem).

Now, what I didn't like as much. I felt a bit off at how Petula dealt with Jacob's secret. I understand that she was mostly shocked about the lie, but she still felt a little harsher than necessary. I don't want to add spoilers so I'll leave it at that. But if anyone wants to talke to me about it, go for it! I understand that maybe this won't bother anyone else...and who said main characters had to be perfect anyways?

All in all it was a very fun, quick read that managed to deal with serious topics in a very easy way.

Find the book at The Book Depository and Goodreads

Review: Ask The Passengers - A. S. King

Ask the Passengers by A. S. King
Publication Date: October 23rd, 2012
Pages: 304 
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Bought it

Synopsis

Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother's pushiness and her father's lack of interest tell her they're the last people she can trust. Instead, Astrid spends hours lying on the backyard picnic table watching airplanes fly overhead. She doesn't know the passengers inside, but they're the only people who won't judge her when she asks them her most personal questions--like what it means that she's falling in love with a girl.

As her secret relationship becomes more intense and her friends demand answers, Astrid has nowhere left to turn. She can't share the truth with anyone except the people at thirty thousand feet, and they don't even know she's there. But little does Astrid know just how much even the tiniest connection will affect these strangers' lives--and her own--for the better.

My Thoughts

This was the first A. S. King book I've read and even though I liked it, I feel a little conflicted about it. Although I liked it enough to buy her other books.

So, this book talks about Astrid, a NYC girl who's been living in a small town for years now but never felt like she belonged. On top of that she is starting to question her sexuality and is afraid of how people would react if they found out. Her family life isn't the best and the way she found to escape it is to lie down on her picnic table and send love to the passengers of the airplanes flying above her.

I really liked Astrid. I felt like she was very sweet although sometimes she could be a bit of a pushover (I'm like that too, so no judgment from me). I didn't notice the part about her sexuality in the blurb and I didn't read any reviews before buying it so the fact that she wasn't straight was a really nice surprise. But here is where I start to feel conflicted. I felt really uncomfortable reading Astrid and Dee's scenes sometimes. Dee (Astrid's girlfriend) rarely respected her boundaries ang got angry every time she asked her to stop. The biggest problem is that I don't feel like it was correctly dealt with. Even though Astrid does have a serious conversation with Dee about it and Dee even apologizes and explains where her behaviour is coming from I still feel like it wasn't enough. Maybe it's just me, I don't know.

To be honest, Astrid was the ONLY person I liked in this book. Her mother made my blood boil, especially because I know people like her and the way she acted was hitting a little close to home. Sometimes I felt desperate while reading this book because it seemed that Astrid really didn't have anyone truly rooting for her. Her father wasn't so bad, I guess. He was trapped in a loveless marriage where he was afraid to stand up to his wife but all in all he did seem to have Astrid's best interests at heart.

And now, my favourite part of the book: the passengers! Sometimes, when Astrid sent her love to the passengers in the sky we would get little snippets about them. It was a nice break from the story, to see how different people, living different lives sometimes could have such similar struggles. Also I liked that they seemed to receive Astrid's love and sort of hear her when she talked to them, even though they didn't comprehend what was happening.

Find this book on The Book Depository

Have you read this? What did you think?

New Beginnings...?

I have been away for a while, is there anyone still here? Probably not...
After moving to tumblr, things worked out for a while but then life got in the way, as it usually does and I had to leave everything behind.

These past few weeks I've missed blogging and I want to come back. The thing is that I know it's probably only a matter of time until blogging feels like a chore, you know? That's what happened before. The idea of reading books just to review them started to feel like work and I already have a lot of that from university. It probably doesn't help that emotionally speaking I wasn't doing the best and there were times where even getting out of bed seemed too much trouble.

So now, I have a couple of options. Either start blogging here again as if nothing happened, stopping all together (my least favourite option) or maybe re-vamp the whole blog and get a co-blogger, someone that could help me when medschool takes too much time from me but also someone to help keep me motivated. Really starting fresh.

What do you guys think?

Joana

MOVING TO TUMBLR

I finally realized that blogger wasn’t the right blogging platform for me! So, I am now moving everything to tumblr…my home.

And in true Octavia Blake fashion: I’m back, bitches!

Find me at: joanaintheskywithbooks.tumblr.com

Review: Antebellum Awakening - Katie Cross

Antebellum Awakening (Network Series, #2) by Katie Cross

Publication Date: October 15th, 2014

Pages: 300

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: Got it from the author

Synopsis

Never underestimate the power of a volatile witch.

Still reeling in the wake of her mother’s death, sixteen-year-old Bianca Monroe is forced to move to Chatham Castle. Not even the sudden appearance of ancient dragons in haunted Letum Wood nor her two best friends can distract her from the strength of her deep, dark rage.

Her grief puts her magical powers into chaos, endangering any witch around her. She has six months left to destroy the curse that will kill her and fulfill her contract with the most cunning enemy of all: her former teacher Miss Mabel. 

Bianca must make a choice: learn to control her restless powers, or let the powers control her.

Antebellum Awakening is the second book in the thrilling new fantasy collection The Network Series. It’s a haunting tale about tragedy, loss, and the power of moving on.

And here I was, thinking that this series couldn't get any better after Miss Mabel's School For Girls. Well, I was utterly wrong!

I felt that this book dealt with some heavier topics. We have grieve, considering that it starts right after Bianca's mother's death, we have a war coming up and we have Bianca being afraid that her curse won't be lifted and that she will die in a short amount of months. So, perhaps because of this, I think that the first part of the book moves a bit slower giving time to Bianca (and the reader) to assimilate everything that is going on.

Nonetheless, the pacing is right for the story and eventually it does become faster and more action-packed - even more so than Miss Mabel's - with magic and what I believed to be amazingly described sword fights! 

On top of that, as Bianca starts accepting her fate, the story gets ever more gripping and enticing, stopping you from putting the book down until you've read it from cover to cover!

I thought that all the characters were wonderfully written and even the secondary ones had an important role in the story. Miss Mabel was as evil as ever. She is just the kind of villain that you love to hate. At the same time - and like I've said on my last review - I like the different kinds of strong women that Katie is able to portray.

This book is a great sequel to Miss Mabel's School For Girls and it leaves you wanting more!

P.S: This is actual footage of me after finishing Antebellum Awakening

Don't miss both Miss Mabel's School for Girls and Antebellum Awakening on Amazon

Stacking The Shelves #7

Stacking The Shelves was originally created by Tynga's Reviews. The idea is for everyone to show the books they are adding to their shelves (physical copies or virtual) 

Since the last time I did one of these I joined a book exchange website...so I have quite a few new beauties to parade! So, what I got was this:

Angels & Demons - Dan Brown

Digital Fortress - Dan Brown

Ecstasy - Irvine Welsh

The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde (I'm going to try and read some more classic books from now on!)

Master of the Moor - Ruth Rendell

One-hit Wonder - Lisa Jewell

The Sea Sisters - Lucy Clarke

The White Queen - Philippa Gregory (I don't read much historical romance, but I'll give it a try!)

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

City of Bones - Cassandra Clare

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children #2) - Ransom Riggs (this one is a hard-back copy which was never read...it's in perfect conditions! Just as if I bought it from TBD, I'm so happy! :D)

I've also gotten two books for review:

Miss Mabel's School for Girls - Katie Cross    Biggest Flirts - Jennifer Echols
(review here)

And finally, I decided to give audiobooks a chance and I got two from Audible!

Winger - Andrew Smith
To All The Boys I've Loved Before - Jenny Han

What did you get this week? :)

Review: Miss Mabel's School for Girls - Katie Cross

Miss Mabel's School for Girls (Network Series, #1) by Katie Cross

Publication Date: March 27th, 2014

Pages: 308

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: Got it from the author

Synopsis

Never underestimate the power of a determined witch.
Letum Wood is a forest of fog and deadfall, home to the quietly famous Miss Mabel’s School for Girls, a place where young witches learn the art of magic.
Sixteen-year-old Bianca Monroe has inherited a deadly curse. Determined to break free before it kills her, she enrolls in the respected school to confront the cunning witch who cast the curse: Miss Mabel.
Bianca finds herself faced with dark magic she didn’t expect, with lessons more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. Will Bianca have the courage to save herself from the curse, or will Miss Mabel’s sinister plan be too powerful?

Miss Mabel’s School for Girls is the first novel in The Network Series, an exciting new fantasy collection. A gripping tale about the struggle to survive, it will take you to a new place and time, one you’ll never want to leave.

If there was only one word I could use to describe this novel, it would be "WOW"!

This book is absolutely action packed from beginning to end! There are no dull moments and there are so many twists and turns that you just have to keep turning the pages. It's definitely one of those books that you only want to put down when you finish it. I have to say that I don't remember the last time a book surprised me, but this one sure did! When I thought I knew what was going to happen, there was some sort of twist...which made this story incredibly interesting.

I also loved how different all the female characters were. Usually when people talk about "strong female characters" they are talking about the heroine who fights everyone; I liked how Katie challenged that notion: we have Bianca who is indeed the heroine who fights back but we also have Miss Mabel, for example who is probably one of the smartest and most cunning women in fiction...and absolutely evil too! 

The secondary characters were very dynamic and were an important part of the plot of the story.

I don't know if there is coming on the next books or not but there was absolutely no romance in this novel, which, in a way, I thought was quite refreshing and different from everything that is out there at the moment.

Katie was able to create an original and magical world like no other I've ever read about. Plus, places were described beautifully and almost made it seem like we were there. 

This was a great beginning of a series and I'm sure to keep up with it! Definitely recommed it! 

"Fear is an ally. It tells you something is wrong, like pain." is definitely one of my favourite quotes ever!

Buy it from Amazon

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Publication Date: September 27th, 2011

Pages: 418

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: Bought it

Synopsis

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hairactually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

After seeing many great reviews for this book, I finally decided to pick it up. The blurb sounded really interesting but there was so much hype around this series that I was a bit scared that I wasn't going to enjoy it as much as others...luckily that wasn't the case!

I think that one of my favourite things about this book was the way places were described, especially Prague...I've never been there but it sounded almost magical (and I would be lying if I said I didn't look up flights to Prague while reading the book!). 

As for characters, Karou is an amazing main character. She is this really unique, artistic blue-haired girl who lives in Prague and has a group of chimaera as a sort of adoptive family. I found it really easy to connect with Karou and to understand her actions. Plus, I liked how she cared about the other characters and always tried to do the right thing (even if they didn't fully deserve it). Zuzana, Karou's tiny, "rabid" best friend was absolutely hillarious and deffinitely someone I would want to be friends with. Her sarcastic nature truly brought a great energy to the book.

Akiva, the seraph was also quite intriguing. Even though he was brought up in a world consumed by war, he finds it in himself to try to be better. I hope we get more from him in the next book.

Even though I deeply enjoyed this book, I have to say that for me, the last third/quarter of this story was what I least enjoyed. One the one hand I liked the description we got of the other worlds and how the seraph and chimaera societies were organized. It was also interesting to get a bit of backstory on the war and on Brimstone's magic and what exactly he did with the teeth...that part was very imaginative. On the other hand, I didn't care very much for Madrigal's whole story even though I realize why it was necessary to be told.

All in all it was a great book that I deffinitely recommed. And I can't wait to start the sequel!

Buy this book at The Book Depository

Discussion Sunday (#1): To co-blog or not to co-blog...

...That is the question! And it's a question that has been a lot on my mind lately since I know that time will always be a issue with me (except maybe in the summer!).

Pros:

• Being able to share the fun!
• Sharing the work (God knows I need it!)

  Cons:

•   This blog is like my baby, it has my name and everything;
•       Affiliate links are associated with my personal email;

     

      So, I really don't know what to do...if on one hand I would love to have a blogging friend with whom I could share everything, on the other hand I don't want to part with Joana In The Sky With Books (which, unless my co-blogger was also called Joana, would be really unfair).  I signed up to receive bloging tips from Brent Riggs, the guy from Linky Tools and on one of his latest emails he talked about how he was giving away free Wordpress blogs already set-up and I started thinking that maybe I could get a second blog and get a co-blogger on that one! And then I reminded myself that the whole reason why co-blogging was so much in my mind lately was my LACK OF TIME...did I really want to run two blogs?? Am I crazy?

      Considering I was having this conversation out loud with myself the answer may very well be "yes".

       What do you guys think of my dilemma? Have you ever gone through the same thing?