My Thoughts: Tempest by Julie Cross

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.
That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.
Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.
But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.
Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.




Before it's release, Tempest by Julie Cross received a lot of publicity. A LOT.  It was one of the most anticipated books for the new year. So naturally I was eager to read it, especially with all the positive reviews it was getting. I didn't immediately go out and buy it, I instead borrowed it from the library. Having now read it, I don't think that I will be buying it in the near future.

I was a little disappointed with Tempest. I approached this novel with high expectations, mostly because of all the great reviews I had been reading. But when I finally began reading, I found that I would get confused in regards to what was going on. Julie Cross had a fantastic concept- a nineteen year old boy who can jump time. I'm not sure if you know this, but I love time travel. Especially if it's done right. The Time Traveler's Wife, Collide, are some of my favourite time travelling books. Both were done right. I don't think that Tempest was done right. It was almost bad. It could have been great though, it had a lot of potential and I am hopeful that the future books in the series will be better.

I was confused in terms of the whole time jumping theory- there were two kinds of jumping: half jumping and a full jump. I wasn't completely certain what the difference was. Also, when a person would jump, what they did in that time would not affect the future. That just does not make sense to me! At all. I think there were a lot of really cool aspects in the book, but nothing was ever explained well; the CIA connection, the role of Jackson- the protagonist, His relationship with Holly, it was all very convoluted. This being an introduction to a trilogy, Tempest was lacking as it didn't set the foundation for the story well.

The characters in the book weren't even that great. However, they were where you got to see the best elements of Cross' writing. They were likable and for the most part you could relate to them easily. Jackson was a good protagonist, however I would sometimes get annoyed with him when it came to Holly. I didn't really believe their love story, so when Jackson would get all protective and start to feel guilty about certain things regarding Holly, I would be like "why? You don't even know how you feel about her." I think that the romance between then could have gone a little deeper. I felt like Jackson acted out of guilt a lot of the time, instead of genuine affection. Holly was a very bland character for me. There was nothing to her, and that bothered me. I wanted to like her, but I couldn't. I also didn't hate her. She was so boring and seemingly unimportant. I really liked Adam though, and the role he played in the novel. He was a grounding force for Jackson and it was fun reading about him. I also kind of liked Jackson's dad. I felt like I experienced the most genuine emotion from him. He was confused and conflicted and that really came through for me in this novel.

Over all, Tempest was an okay book. I am hoping that the next couple of books will be better.

~Happy Reading Everyone!

My Thoughts: Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral (Video Review)

After her mother died, Glory retreated into herself and her music. Her single father raised her as a piano prodigy, with a rigid schedule and the goal of playing sold-out shows across the globe. Now, as a teenager, Glory has disappeared. As readers flash back to the events leading up to her disappearance, they see a girl on the precipice of disaster.

I am sorry for the rambling and the abrupt ending. My memory card decided it was full at that exact moment. I hope you enjoy. 

~Happy Reading Everyone! 

A Mini Hiatus!

Hi Everyone!

I just now realized that I need to take a break from the blog for the next couple weeks. I have a mountain of school work that needs to get done and just as many exams that I need to study for. I don't have time really to read all that much.

I will be back in a couple weeks with a giveaway of epic proportions (haha, sorta). Thanks so much for sticking with me, and for understanding. Once school is done (April 13th, whoop whoop), I will have a more regular schedule.


Thanks everyone!

In My Mailbox #28 (Vlog #22) and an Update!

Well hello there, and welcome to another episode of In My Mailbox, which is hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren- The button is brought to you by Laura from All of Everything.

There are a few announcements/updates at the end of the video, so please watch until the end. 

Books Mentioned

Library: 

Where it Began by Ann Redisch Stampler

Tempest by Julie Cross 

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

My new Facebook Page-Please go and 'Like' I'd really appreciate it! 

That's all for me. 

~Happy Reading Everyone! 

My Thoughts: Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser

Two families. Four teens.
A summer full of secrets.
Every summer, hidden away in a lakeside community in upstate New York, four teens leave behind their old identities…and escape from their everyday lives.

Yet back in Philadelphia during the school year, Alex cannot suppress his anger at his father (who killed himself), his mother (whom he blames for it), and the girls who give it up too easily. His younger brother, Kyle, is angry too—at his abusive brother, and at their mother who doesn’t seem to care. Meanwhile, in suburban New Jersey, Katie plays the role of Miss Perfect while trying to forget the nightmare that changed her life. But Julie, her younger sister, sees Katie only as everything she’s not. And their mother will never let Julie forget it.

Up at the lake, they can be anything, anyone. Free. But then Katie’s secret gets out, forcing each of them to face reality—before it tears them to pieces.


**Review copy received from NetGalley.**


Continuing with my current contemporary faze, I bring to you Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser. I have really been loving contemporary YA recently, so when Pieces of Us was brought to my attention I was intrigued, for several reasons, but one of them being that it takes place over the summer. I really like novels that take place over a a specific season, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Last Summer of Skinny Dipping, all those books take place during the summer. For the most part so does Pieces of Us however this is not your average summer read. Its more than that, much more.

The story is also more than what the synopsis says it is. It is told from four different perspectives Katie's, a sixteen year old girl who has it all. She is head cheerleader and adored by many, she is her mother's dream child and has a mega hot boyfriend; Julie, Katie's fourteen year old sister. She's always played second string to Katie, never good enough. She's not super popular, she's not incredibly thin- she's just not, in comparison to Katie; Alex, Katie's summertime boyfriend. Alex is broken and angry, and his anger has turned into something dark and destructive and Kyle, Alex's younger brother who has been the victim of his brother's abuse for years. All four teens are connected to one another and play a very significant role in one another's lives.

I enjoyed Pieces of Us about as much as one could enjoy a story like this one. It was intense and disturbing. So incredibly disturbing. The story (for the most part) revolves around Katie and her experiences- it is a little more than that, however, the individual issues each character is struggling with is put into perspective with Katie's situation. I found this aspect of the story incredibly interesting, and rather creative. Gelbwasser could have stuck with the more traditional route of explaining how someone was feeling and how it affected them. However, she was able to incorporate the specific emotions into the interactions that the four characters had with one another and with others. She did an amazing job at getting the reader to fully understand the depth and the complexity of the situations.

The story itself bothered me. I think mostly because of what it surrounded. I don't want to spoil anything. But something terrible happens to Katie and she does not handle it well, and it has a sort of snowball effect on the lives of the people around her. There were times that I wanted to scream at Katie and tell her she was doing it all wrong. She was a weak character and it bothered me to see how much of a door mat she was. She let herself be taken advantage of and in the beginning I sympathized with her but after a while I wanted her to stand up for herself, to stop letting what other people thought of her affect her decisions. Alex was an abusive bastard jerk. There were times where you understood where he was coming from and why he would do the things he did, but then you remember what he did to his brother and all that goes away. It's messed up, really.

Pieces of Us is a complicated novel and I am not doing a great job of conveying what went into it and what the book essentially is. It was a brilliant novel that discussed a lot of serious issues. It was a little overwhelming at times because there were so many awful things that took place, but it was worth the read. Young adults everywhere should read this novel. I feel like it will teach them SO much about what is right and wrong, and what is acceptable behaviour.

~Happy Reading Everyone!

In My Mailybox #28 (Vlog #21)

Welcome, welcome! To another edition of In My Mailbox! In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren and the button comes to you from Laura at All of Everything. 

Books Mentioned

For Review: 

The Reckoning by Alma Katsu

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Boy Meets Girl by Various Authors 

Bought:

A Wrinkle in Time Box Set by Madeleine L'Engle 

That's it for me this week boys and girls! 

~Happy Reading! 

My Thoughts: Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Sixteen year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of a car while her mom fills her prescription at the pharmacy. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, their car is being stolen--with her inside! Griffin hadn’t meant to kidnap Cheyenne, all he needed to do was steal a car for the others. But once Griffin's dad finds out that Cheyenne’s father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes—now there’s a reason to keep her. What Griffin doesn’t know is that Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia, she is blind. How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare, and if she does, at what price?


**Finished copy received from Raincoast Books**





The concept of Girl, Stolen by April Henry was really interesting. The idea of a sixteen year old girl being kidnapped is freaky, but a sixteen year old girl who is also blind and completely vulnerable is way unnerving.  I had high hopes for Girl, Stolen. A blind teenager completely at the mercy of her kidnapper; a teenage boy who has been the victim of abuse for the majority of his life. However, Girl, Stolen fell a little short for me.

As I mentioned before, the story itself was a good idea and it started out alright. Cheyenne getting kidnapped and her inability to see him or what was going on around her was intensely stressful. Henry did a good job at demonstrating the anxiety of the situation. She also did a good job of expressing not only Cheyenne's fear but Griffin's nerves as well. I really liked this about the writing- this was a story of high emotions and intense situations and it never became trivial.

I was a little disappointed by how quickly everything went. I felt like Henry could have gone a little deeper with the story. I felt like she could have explored the dynamics of Griffin and the relationship he had with his father. She also could have also developed the relationship between Griffin and Cheyenne. All these things were alluded to, but they only just grazed the surface.  There were numerous things that just grazed the surface.

Overall this was a fairly good read with good writing, however it had a lot of potential which was not taken advantage of.

Girl, Stolen is hits the shelves in paperback tomorrow (March 13th).

~Happy Reading Everyone!