Jenny Pox - Review

Jenny Pox (The Paranormals, # 1)

By: JL Bryan

Published: July 22nd 2010

214 pages

Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy

Source: Personal Kindle Library

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Eighteen-year-old Jenny Morton has a horrific secret: her touch spreads a deadly supernatural plague, the "Jenny pox." She lives by a single rule: Never touch anyone. A lifetime of avoiding any physical contact with others has made her isolated and painfully lonely in her small rural town.

Then she meets the one boy she can touch. Jenny feels herself falling for Seth...but if she's going to be with him, Jenny must learn to use the deadly pox inside her to confront his ruthless and manipulative girlfriend Ashleigh, who secretly wields the most dangerous power of all.

*Not recommended for readers under eighteen.

My initial reaction to the concept and the beginning of Jenny Pox was how terribly sad and lonely of a life Jenny must have. Not being able to touch anyone. Being a social pariah. Not even being able to hug your dad. Her house is pretty much a junkyard for all of her dad's spare parts and such. And then little Rocky shows up--a stray 3-legged-dog that Jenny adopts. But of course, she can't pet him or she'll kill him. It all set the tone for a very sad story.

I loved Rocky, so when a certain event takes place toward the beginning of the book, I was certain that this was the worst book I'd ever read. It was horrible. I was so emotional. However, that turned into a period of complete confusion because I couldn't tell what in the world just happened and then led to me thinking "maybe this is the best book I've ever read."

Jenny Pox was not at all what I thought it was going to be. It bounced back and forth between Jenny and Ashleigh. And I didn't care about reading Ashleigh's part at all. Not only is she an evil person, but I just didn't get her. Yeah, she wants to rule the world and all of that jazz, and it was just all a means to an end. But seriously. Come on.

Toward the end of the book, things just got weird and there was a lot going on that I was reading and I thought to myself "I comprehend the words that I'm reading, but at this same time, this just doesn't make sense." The end of the book also had more description and less dialogue for my preference-if there's too much description, I space out because what I really care about is what's going on with the characters, not what everything looks like, etc. Overall I wasn't impressed with the ending.

Also, the pot usage really got on my nerves. As well as all the crazy Christians in the story. Yeah, I admit they're out there. But this seems to be the ONLY type of "Christian" character we see in today's literature that's not "Christian literature." Come on authors....will someone please write a Christian character who's not a loony-bin-escapee! PLEASE!

I have such a hard time giving books anything below 3 stars for a couple of reasons. One is because I don't typically read much that I don't actually like. Two is because I know that the author put a lot of work into this book and I hate to be "too hard" on something that took so much work. But the truth is, my 3 star rating is "I liked it," and well...I just didn't. That's not to say it's a "bad" book. It just wasn't for me--I didn't enjoy the overall experience of this book.

My final opinion is that Jenny Pox was a book that held a lot of potential, but didn't end up being an enjoyable read for me. I'm giving it 2 Stars. Have you read Jenny Pox? If so, what did you think? Let me know!

Waiting on Left Drowning

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Left Drowning

By: Jessica Park

Expected Publication: July 16th 2013 by Skyscape

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

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Goodreads description--What does it take to rise from life’s depths, swim against the current, and breathe?

Weighted down by the loss of her parents, Blythe McGuire struggles to keep her head above water as she trudges through her last year at Matthews College. Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn’t expect—an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own. As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she’s been in since the night a fire took half her family. She begins to heal, and even, haltingly, to love this guy who helps her find new paths to pleasure and self-discovery. But as Blythe moves into calmer waters, she realizes Chris is the one still strangled by his family’s traumatic history. As dark currents threaten to pull him under, Blythe may be the only person who can keep him from drowning.

*This book is intended for mature audiences due to strong language and sexual content. Due to mature content recommended for Ages 17+

What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Top Ten Fictional Crushes

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Most Intimidating Books.

Well...see...I've already done this one. You can see that post here. So I decided to choose Top Ten Fictional Book Crushes! I thought I'd done this one before too, but I couldn't find it, and hey...why not do it a second time even if I have????

1) My all time favorite and top book boyfriend is Dimitri Belikov from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead! First off, I tend to go for older men--especially wise ones. Not to mention that Dimitri's fighting skills are uber hot!

2) Gotta pick my classic next. Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Anyone who can internalize criticism and come out a better person because of love is a character worthy of my love.

3) Because love isn't always broken by time, Captain Wentworth from Persuasion by Jane Austen.

4) Because I can't help but fall for a guy with talent in the arts. Will Cooper from Colleen Hoover's Slammed blows all of my requirements for a book boyfriend out of the water. He's older...check. He's talented...check. He's wise...check check. Love him!!!

5) A new addition to the fictional crushes is Perry from Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. Along with having a talent he didn't actually choose, Perry knows how to survive in the wild. This is definitely a must have for my fictional boyfriend.

6) Oh Will...Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. Will has the attitude and the snark that I love. He's self-sacrificing in the right kind of way. And he makes me laugh and cry all at the same time. Love me some Will H!

7) Ryan from Dare You To and/or Noah from Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry. Both of these guys make the list for completely different reasons. Ryan is just an all-around good guy trying to do the right thing. Noah is a bit of a bad boy who's also trying to do right by the people he loves. I heart them both.

8) Another one with talent...Sam from The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater. Sam's heart is so big. Plus the singing, guitar playing, and poetry combination pricks my heart strings.

9) Guys I'm noticing a trend for real...adding another artist to the list, but a different kind, add Ed from Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley.

10) Not quite an artist, but talented nonetheless, Sean Kendrick from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater has to make the list. Any character with as much love for his horse as Sean fills my heart with gooey goodness.

You guys know I can't follow the rules and stick to ten...

11) Another character that is self-sacrificing in the best of ways--Peeta from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. You guys...any time a guy literally tries to save the life of the female MC, I'm all over that. Plus he's so patient with Katniss.

12) Because this is literally the kind of guy you want to marry, Michael Hosea from Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is the perfect fictional crush for serious women and serious relationships. We all know that I love a good bad boy, but Michael Hosea is as good as they come, and nothing is hotter than that.

Since we just specified fictional and not specifically book related...I've got two more...

Damon Salvatore from the TV version of Vampire Diaries based off the book series by LJ Smith and Dean Winchester from Supernatural.

That's it for me and my fictional character crushes...What do you think? Who are your character crushes? Let me know!

The Maze Runner - Review

The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, # 1)

By: James Dashner

Published: October 6th 2009 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

374 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Source: Borrowed from my local library

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Goodreads description--When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every thirty days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

I read the description for The Maze Runner like a couple of years ago and decided that I wanted to add it to my TBR list. But it's been since I initially added it that I've read the description, and I don't think I've read a single review for this book either. That being said, I pretty much went into The Maze Runner blind--which is a good thing to me.

The Maze Runner was definitely different from most of the books I like to read. I like books that are about lurve! But that's not really what The Maze Runner is about. You do find out that Thomas has a connection to Teresa (the girl who shows up the day after him) where perhaps before they had their memories wiped they might have been developing a "thing," but no memories means we don't know for sure.

Anyway, Thomas was a likable character for me, but I didn't get too attached to many of the other Gladers. For some reason the majority of the guys living in the Glade were kind of secretive about what's going on. They pretty much kept Thomas in the dark about everything, but they'd get annoyed when he pressed for answers or when he didn't really know what was going on. Of course, Thomas couldn't leave himself in the dark and so he did what any sane person would do who has woke up in the middle of a maze with no memory of their previous life, he kept pressing until he got answers. All the secrecy between the guys in the Glade keeps  the reader in the dark just as much as Thomas and so from a reading stand point I was hooked early on to find out just what in the world is going on. However, that same aspect also got old quick.

I loved how James Dashner created this world of the Glade and the Maze. I loved how the kids had their own language and terminology that has been developed over time. But I never could really picture the Grievers like Mr. Dashner described them. I came up with one picture in my head after Thomas's first glimpse of a Griever through the window, but then Thomas's first encounter with one in the actual Maze gave me a completely different picture. --I'm completely aware that if you haven't read this book, you have no idea what I'm talking about, but I'm trying not to spoil anything.

All in all, I'm very intrigued to see what the next test and environment is going to be thrown at these poor kids in The Scorch Trials, book 2. The Maze Runner gets 4 Stars from me. What do you think? Have you read The Maze Runner? Let me know!

Sunday Post - 51 & Stacking the Shelves - 24

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

This was a good week. I took Friday off from work to clean house and ended up reading from like 7 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon. Then totally busted my rear end to get the house clean after that. OOPS! Saturday the family came over to celebrate my birthday, my brother's birthday, and Father's day with my dad (yeah, we're a little late on that one). It was a really great weekend. And I'm looking forward to the upcoming short work week and LONG weekend. Early Happy 4th of July to my American peeps!

THIS PAST WEEK:

Monday: Review of Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky, # 2) by Veronica Rossi (4 Stars)

Tuesday: Top Ten(ish) Books I've Read in 2013 So Far

Wednesday: Waiting on Allegiant

Thursday: Review of Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend (Confessions, # 2) by Louise Rozett (3 Stars)

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday: Review of The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, # 1) by James Dashner

Tuesday: Top Ten Fictional Crushes (I think I've done this one before...but I'm always adding new crushes to the list...so...yeah...it can't hurt to do it again, right?)

Wednesday: Waiting on Wednesday

Thursday: Review of Jenny Pox (The Paranormals, # 1) by JL Bryan

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

ALREADY FINISHED AND LOVED....

Losing Hope (Hopeless, # 2)

By: Colleen Hoover

Expected Publication: July 8th 2013 by Atria Books

256 pages

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

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Goodreads description--In the follow-up to Colleen Hoover’s #1 New York Times bestseller Hopeless, the charming and irresistible Dean Holder tells the passionate story that has melted thousands of hearts.

In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.

And still need to read...

The Truth About Letting Go

By: Leigh Talbert Moore

Published: February 2013

276 pages

Genre: YA/NA, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!)

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Goodreads description--Ashley Lockett has always followed the rules. She's always done the right thing and played it safe until her ideal life is shattered when her dad dies suddenly.

Fueled by anger and grief, she vows to do everything opposite of how she lived before. Then she meets Jordan. He has big dreams, he's had a crush on Ashley for years, and he's a great kisser. But he's also safe.

Enter Colt. He is not safe, and he's more than willing to help Ashley fulfill her vow.

Rotters

By: Daniel Kraus

Published: April 5th 2011 by Delacorte Press

448 pages

Genre: YA, Horror

Source: Free Download from Sync Audiobooks

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Goodreads description--Grave-robbing. What kind of monster would do such a thing? It's true that Leonardo da Vinci did it, Shakespeare wrote about it, and the resurrection men of nineteenth-century Scotland practically made it an art. But none of this matters to Joey Crouch, a sixteen-year-old straight-A student living in Chicago with his single mom. For the most part, Joey's life is about playing the trumpet and avoiding the daily humiliations of high school.

Everything changes when Joey's mother dies in a tragic accident and he is sent to rural Iowa to live with the father he has never known, a strange, solitary man with unimaginable secrets. At first, Joey's father wants nothing to do with him, but once father and son come to terms with each other, Joey's life takes a turn both macabre and exhilarating.

Daniel Kraus's masterful plotting and unforgettable characters make Rotters a moving, terrifying, and unconventional epic about fathers and sons, complex family ties, taboos, and the ever-present specter of mortality.

Frankenstein

By: Mary Shelley

Published: first published 1817

Genre: Classics, Horror, Science Fiction

Source: Free Download from Sync Audiobooks

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*Note: The above links to Amazon, The Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--"I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion." A summer evening's ghost stories, lonely insomnia in a moonlit Alpine room, and a runaway imagination - fired by philosophical discussion with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley about science, galvanism, and the origins of life - conspired to produce for Mary Shelley this haunting night specter. By morning it had become the germ of her Romantic masterpiece, Frankenstein.

Written in 1816, when she was only nineteen. Mary Shelley's novel of "The Modern Prometheus" chillingly dramatized the dangerous potential of life begotten upon a laboratory table. A frightening creation myth for our own time, Frankenstein remains one of the greatest horror stories ever written and is an undisputed classic of its kind.

314

By: AR Wise

Published: December 24th 2012

250 pages

Genre: Horror

Source: Kindle Freebie

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*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate link. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers. However, as of the date of this publication (6/30/2013) this book is free on Amazon.

Goodreads description--Alma Harper has been trying to forget what happened in Widowsfield 16 years ago. She has a good life as a music teacher now, and might rekindle her relationship with her one true love. However, the number 314 haunts her, and threatens to bring her back to the day that her brother disappeared. When a reporter shows up, just days before March 14th, Alma realizes that her past is coming back to haunt her. What happened on March 14th, at 3:14, 16 years ago? No one but The Skeleton Man can remember.

Saving Wishes (The Wishes Series, # 1)

By: GJ Walker-Smith

Published: February 2013

368 pages

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!)

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*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate link. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--For Charli Blake, being seventeen is a tough gig.

She's been branded a troublemaker, her reputation is in tatters and she's stuck in Pipers Cove, a speck of a town on the coast of Tasmania.

Thankfully, it's temporary. Her lifelong dream of travelling the world is just months away from becoming reality. All she has to do is ride out the last few months of high school, which is easier said than done thanks to a trio of mean girls known as The Beautifuls.

When Adam Décarie arrives in town, all the way from New York, life takes an unexpected turn. His arrival sets off a chain of events that alters her life forever, convincing her of one thing. Fate brought him to her.

Saving Wishes is the story of a girl who doesn't quite fit the life she's living, and the boy who helps her realise why.

I think that's all. But birthday celebration has come to a close--that means...birthday money spending is about to begin. Hip Hip HOORAY!

That's it for my shelves and recaps of my past and upcoming week. What did you add to your shelves this week? Any bookish news you want to talk about? Let me know!