HI PEOPLE!!
I havent posted since school has started and I have three things I need to rewiew. But first, I need to say my new guidelines. I will only be reviewing new things. This includes movies I see withing two weeks of its release, and books that are still available in hardcover only. However if I read or see something that has to do with current events I will post about that too. Also, I will be limiting the info I give before I review. By the way todays reviews will be ultra short and get my point across.
MINI REVIEW #1
Title: Where the Wild Things Are
Genre: Fantasy
MPAA Rating: PG
Summary: 9-year old Max gets mad at his mom and sets off into the wilderness and finds a bunch of wild things whom he becomes friends with.
Review: A kids movie with great themes. However, this movie was designed more for adults than kids. Great artistic and moral value in this film. Very mysterious as well. All in all, it was great! Very thought provoking.
Grade: A
MINI REVIEW #2
Title: Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
Author: Chelsea Handler
Genre: Memoir
Summary: Comedian Chelsea Handler recolects on some funny events in her life.
Review: Chelsea is funny as ever in her second book and it's great to listen to her own experiences in her own words. I really hear her presence and it's almost as funny as hearing her on TV.
Grade: B+
MINI REVIEW #3
Title: Leviathan
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Illustrator: Keith Thompson
Series: Leviathan
Genre: Steampunk, Alternate History
Summary: Son of the recently murdered Arch Duke Ferdinand, Aleksander tries to go into hiding. Scottish 15-year old Deryn Sharp is a girl posing as a boy to serve in the British Navy. Somehow their lives will cross paths and the world may never be the same in this alternate history of WWI. They are on opposite sides of the war. Alek is a clanker, the side that uses heavy machinery to fight. Deryn is a Darwinist, the side that uses fabricated animals to fight.
Review: It's by Scott Westerfeld. Therefore, it is great. The 50 illustrations in this book made it much more enjoyable. It is great to see the beginning of another trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. The characters were very developed and as always, this alternate world is very advanced. A great read for young adults and keeps you anticipated for the second and third to come.
Grade: B+
Showing posts with label Scott Westerfeld. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scott Westerfeld. Show all posts
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
OMG MY FIRST POST!
Hello blogosphere! This is my very first post on my new blog! As you can tell from the title, it is about books and other things. Whenever I post an entry I feel like people are going to read this and love it or hate it. But the main reason for this blog is to be a Kicker. For those of you who dont know what a Kicker is, it is a person who kicks stories about stuff and tries to get people interested in whatever he/she/it posts about. Mine centers around kicking books. For those of you who are reading this and have deja vu of the term kicker, you have probably seen it in the book "Extras" by Scott Westerfeld www.scottwesterfeld.com/blog As a matter of fact in this post I will be reviewing "Extras" by Scott Westerfeld. What a coinkidink! (Great segway huh?)
Title: Extras
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Series: Uglies
Genre: Sci-Fi (but this book was a little more mysterious than the others in the series)
Page Count: 417 (hardcover edition)
Price: $16.99 hardcover, $9.99 paperback
Barnes and Noble Link: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Extras/Scott-Westerfeld/e/9781416971214/?itm=1
Blurb On The Back (Or Dust Jacket): Fame. It's a few years after rebel Tally Youngblood took down the uglies/pretties/specials regime. Without those strict roles and rules, the world is a complete cultural renaissance. "Tech-heads" flaunt their latest gadgets, "kickers" spread gossip and trends, and "surge-monkeys" are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. And it's all monitored on a bazillion different cameras. The world is like a gigantic game of American Idol. Whoever is getting the most buzz gets the most votes. Popularity rules.
As if being fifteen doesn't suck enough, Aya Fuse's rank of 451, 369 is so low, she's a total nobody. An extra. Her only chance to escape extra-land is to find a big story to kick - something wild and unexpected.
Then Aya meets a clique of girls who pull crazy tricks, yet are deeply secritive about it. But the Sly Girls are hiding something bigger - an explosive discovery that may change the face of the brave new world forever. If Aya kicks this story, she'll be propelled into the world of fame, celebrity... and extreme danger. A world she's not prepared for.
My Review: This book was PHENOMINAL! Probably my favorite in the four part trilogy (yea you heard me). The reason I say four part trilogy is because the first three books (Uglies, Pretties, and Specials) were supposed to be a trilogy in itself but mastermind author Scott Westerfeld wrote Extras as an unexpected fourth part due to popular demand of the series.
I think that one reason I liked the book so much is the way the author used the same universe as in his previous books but changed it around so much by adding new cliques and characters and so many twists and turns. Some of these are bringing old characters back as well and changing the whole idea around in a story that you would've never imagined to be true until it all the puzzle peices come together.
This book also had some very good themes including some very good ones about friendship and trust and honesty as do all of the other books in the series have. Trust and understanding definity come together with this story very well indeed and the author just makes his views so simple and honest in the book.
One thing that kind of bothered me was a left open sub-plot that had really nothing to do with the story but was still very interesting in itself (but i guess that just leaves more room for a FIFTH book!). But that barley changes the reading experience.
Something that I liked yet disliked at the same time was how easily you could just pick this book up without reading the other three (but dont mix up the order when reading the other three trust me you will get confused!). I know what you're thinking "How is this a bad thing? It seems good to me!" Well I just think that you won't like and appreciate the book's twists and turns as much as i did if you haven't read the other 3.
Final Note: READ THE DAMN BOOK! IT'S AMAZING! TRUST ME.
Do I Reccomend This Book: Hellz yea.
Grade: A-
Title: Extras
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Series: Uglies
Genre: Sci-Fi (but this book was a little more mysterious than the others in the series)
Page Count: 417 (hardcover edition)
Price: $16.99 hardcover, $9.99 paperback
Barnes and Noble Link: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Extras/Scott-Westerfeld/e/9781416971214/?itm=1
Blurb On The Back (Or Dust Jacket): Fame. It's a few years after rebel Tally Youngblood took down the uglies/pretties/specials regime. Without those strict roles and rules, the world is a complete cultural renaissance. "Tech-heads" flaunt their latest gadgets, "kickers" spread gossip and trends, and "surge-monkeys" are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. And it's all monitored on a bazillion different cameras. The world is like a gigantic game of American Idol. Whoever is getting the most buzz gets the most votes. Popularity rules.
As if being fifteen doesn't suck enough, Aya Fuse's rank of 451, 369 is so low, she's a total nobody. An extra. Her only chance to escape extra-land is to find a big story to kick - something wild and unexpected.
Then Aya meets a clique of girls who pull crazy tricks, yet are deeply secritive about it. But the Sly Girls are hiding something bigger - an explosive discovery that may change the face of the brave new world forever. If Aya kicks this story, she'll be propelled into the world of fame, celebrity... and extreme danger. A world she's not prepared for.
My Review: This book was PHENOMINAL! Probably my favorite in the four part trilogy (yea you heard me). The reason I say four part trilogy is because the first three books (Uglies, Pretties, and Specials) were supposed to be a trilogy in itself but mastermind author Scott Westerfeld wrote Extras as an unexpected fourth part due to popular demand of the series.
I think that one reason I liked the book so much is the way the author used the same universe as in his previous books but changed it around so much by adding new cliques and characters and so many twists and turns. Some of these are bringing old characters back as well and changing the whole idea around in a story that you would've never imagined to be true until it all the puzzle peices come together.
This book also had some very good themes including some very good ones about friendship and trust and honesty as do all of the other books in the series have. Trust and understanding definity come together with this story very well indeed and the author just makes his views so simple and honest in the book.
One thing that kind of bothered me was a left open sub-plot that had really nothing to do with the story but was still very interesting in itself (but i guess that just leaves more room for a FIFTH book!). But that barley changes the reading experience.
Something that I liked yet disliked at the same time was how easily you could just pick this book up without reading the other three (but dont mix up the order when reading the other three trust me you will get confused!). I know what you're thinking "How is this a bad thing? It seems good to me!" Well I just think that you won't like and appreciate the book's twists and turns as much as i did if you haven't read the other 3.
Final Note: READ THE DAMN BOOK! IT'S AMAZING! TRUST ME.
Do I Reccomend This Book: Hellz yea.
Grade: A-
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