Annette's Book Spot

Monday, July 20, 2015

Book Review: Adrift, by Paul Griffin

If you can get past the simplistic writing in Adrift, there's an exciting story to be told.

Matt and John meet Driana, JoJo and Stef on the beach and they invite the boys to their mansion in the Hamptons for a party. Stef decides it is a perfect night to windsurf. But the other four think the sea is to dangerous and go to rescue Stef. Thus begins a harrowing story that pushes their survival abilities to the limit and tests their humanity.

Griffin isn't afraid to kill off characters, and the reader is told right at the beginning that not everyone comes home. There are gruesome parts and rivalries that threaten to destroy all hope of survival.

Adrift is a fast-paced very quick read. The main problem I had was the simple, choppy sentence structure. It was almost rhythmic. Subject-verb-predicate. Subject-verb-predicate. Most sentences are about 9 - 12 words in length. There are no complex sentence constructions. Maybe that's good if the intended audience are low level readers, but even a sophisticated middle school reader may find this too simple.

Adrift grabs you and doesn't let go. The ending is not all happy and perfect. Things are better, but as the beginning of the book indicates, none of them came back whole.

I would highly recommend Adrift to reluctant readers who like survival stories. The narrator is a boy, but girls will also enjoy it.

Published by Scholastic, July 28. 2015
ARC obtained from Library Media Connection Magazine
228 pages

Rating: 3/5

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Stacking the Shelves - One that I'm Already Reading

Happy Weekend! It's the beginning of my vacation so I'm pretty excited. Hope you have a great one. Here's what I got this week:

For Review:

Armada, by Ernest Cline from Edelweiss

I was so excited to get approved for this one. I loved Ready Player One, and I couldn't wait to get started on Armada.

Only one, but a coveted one! How about you? Leave me a link to your haul. Don't forget to stop by our hosts, Team Tynga's Reviews and check out all the participants. See you soon.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Book Review: China Dolls by Lisa See

China Dolls by Lisa See book cover and review

Lisa See once again immerses her readers in Asian culture in China Dolls.

Three women, with very different family backgrounds, meet in San Francisco in 1938. Grace has run away from her Iowa home and only wants to be a star. But although she is Chinese, her family is very Americanized and she doesn't even know what a chopstick is!

Helen has grown up in her family's home in Chinatown, and her parents are very traditional.

Ruby is ambitious but doesn't talk much about her family. She's willing to take risks to get what she wants.

These women become fast friends as they navigate the world of Chinese-American nightclubs. They become dancers and at times rivals. They support each other and pump each other up, but the business is as times cut-throat and brutal.

There are secrets and betrayals; they drift apart and together as they navigate the climate during WWII and beyond. Romance is present, but the main focus of China Dolls is the bond between these women.

China Dolls is narrated by these three women in alternating chapters. It took me a while to become comfortable with each voice so I could tell them apart.

China Dolls is historically accurate and includes several well-know popular figures of the time. The story is well paced, and See does a good job of revealing secrets and providing drama to keep you hooked. None of her books could ever top my love for Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, but China Dolls was a very satisfying reading experience and I recommend it to fans of Chinese culture and historical fiction. China Dolls is appropriate for teen or adult readers.

Published by Random House, 2014
Ebook obtained from the library
400 pages

Rating: 4/5

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Book Review: Alive, by Scott Sigler

Alive, by Scott Sigler book cover and review

Alive keeps you guessing about what is really going on, but it also keeps your adrenaline pumping with its action and suspense.

Em wakes up in what seems to be a coffin and uses every ounce of strength to break out. She's in a room with many other coffins. She tries to wake up the kids in the coffins, but some of them are dead. She does manage to wake up a few others. They all believe that today is their birthday. None of them can remember their names or anything about their pasts. "Em" gives herself that name because on the end of her coffin it says "M. Savage."

They are all in clothes that are too little for them, and believe they are 12 years old. But by their anatomy, they are much older.

They begin to explore to find adults and food and water. They find a lot of dead skeletons. Em becomes the leader. They do end up encountering some others like themselves. They also get into some dangerous situations, and Sigler isn't afraid to kill off some of them.

Then.....ha! I'm not going to tell you. That's all you're going to get about the plot. The tension mounts. It's frightening and sometimes a little gorey. It isn't easy emotionally for these kids trying to catch up with their bodies. Em's hold on her leadership is at times precarious. I felt myself reading faster and faster trying to "help" these kids as they figure out where they are and why they are there.

Alive has a nice resolution to this part of the story, but it's a series, and I am very interested to see what happens next. Teens who enjoy a fast-paced adventure/survival story will enjoy Alive.

Published by Del Rey, July 14, 2015
eARC obtained from NetGalley
368 pages

Rating: 4/5

Monday, July 13, 2015

Book Review: Ruthless by Carolyn Lee Adams

Ruthless by Carolyn Lee Adams book cover and review

Ruthless grabs you and doesn't let you go until the last page.

Ruth wakes up buried in something which she soon realizes is leaves and dirt. And she's in the back of a pickup truck that is moving. As she realizes how desperate her situation is, she know she must escape from her captor.

By far the greatest appeal is the nonstop action and tension. Ruth just never gives up, no matter how desperate things become. She encounters her captor numerous times while she's on the run, and each time is harrowing. Her determination and resourcefulness are admirable.

We are given flashbacks into Ruth's and her kidnapper's lives. Ruth isn't made out to be a perfect teen -- she's been, well, ruthless when it comes to her horses and becoming a champion rider.

Because this adventure goes on and on, we do need to suspend some disbelief. There were some times when Ruth made bad decisions, or else got extremely lucky. But rest assured, this only served to keep the action going. My biggest complaint is that she encountered people that didn't help. It seemed that these people had some hidden reason that they wouldn't help, but it was never explained and that really bothered me.

If you enjoy nonstop thrillers, I would recommend Ruthless. Reserve some time...you won't be able to put it down. It's a pretty short book and would be good for reluctant readers.

Published by Simon Pulse, July 14, 2015
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
256 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Audio Book Review: Visitors by Orson Scott Card - DNF

Visitors by Orson Scott Card book cover and review

I've never not finished an audiobook before. I'm usually much more patient with that version. And even more surprising, this is the third book in the series, and I enjoyed the first two.

Visitors continues the story of Rigg, Ram Odin, Loaf, Umbo, and Param. They are kind of all going their separate ways for different reasons. Oh, and there's a new character, a duplicate of Rigg, who calls himself Noxon.

Their goal is to keep a spaceship from Earth from coming and destroying Garden. They've been into the future, so they know this is going to happen and are trying to figure out how to prevent it.

Rigg is visiting every one of the wallfolds. It's probably the most boring part. Maybe there will end up being a purpose, but it just seems like a bunch of side stories. With each miniscule step forward, we are subjected to every nuance of thought and debate about how this will work, will it change the past, will it create multiple copies of things, and how are they going to learn to do all the things they need to do time travel-wise. This goes on and on ad nauseam, even more so than in the first two books. Then we get about a paragraph of actual action, and then back to the debate.

I'm to the point (after 5 of 14 discs) that I couldn't care less about the outcome. The narrators are excellent, as they were in the first two books in the series, but I'm moving on to something else.

If you are a time travel fanatic and enjoy thinking about all the complications it would entail, then you would enjoy this book (and the series.) The first two books are Pathfinder and Ruins and you must read them in order.

Published by Simon Pulse, 2014, Brilliance Audio
Audiobook obtained from the library
5 of 14 discs (36%), 217 of 608 pages

Rating: DNF

Monday, July 6, 2015

Book Review: The Third Twin, by CJ Omololu

The Third Twin by CJ Omololu book cover and review

The Third Twin is an exciting book, as long as you can believe that teens could be this stupid.

Ava and Lexi are twins that made up an imaginary "third twin" when they were young and called her Alicia. No one knows that they still pretend to be this twin sometimes now that they are in high school. Mostly Ava. She'll go on a few dates with a guy, and then sometimes Lexi will take over and pretend. Lexi wants to stop after having a bad experience, but Ava continues to lead a double life.

When a guy they have dated turns up murdered, the police come to their house looking for Alicia. Then they get stupid. The bad decisions just keep piling up, and, given that these girls are pretty smart, it was hard for me to believe. They just get in deeper and deeper, and while it does get exciting, I just couldn't help rolling my eyes.

Ava and Lexi are adopted; literally left on the doorstep. The title of the book and the hints the reader gets during the story make the "surprise" not that surprising. I didn't figure out who the murderer was though, so that was positive. Although I found the motive to be rather weak.

So, I was entertained while reading The Third Twin. I think it might be more appropriate for younger teens because of the simplicity of the story. It's a pretty quick and easy read that is worth the time.

Published by Delacorte, February 24, 2015
eARC obtained from NetGalley
336 pages

Rating: 3/5

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Stacking the Shelves - One for the Fun of It

Happy Weekend! And if you are from the United States, I hope you enjoy your 4th of July. I only acquired one book this week and here it is:

From the Library:

China Dolls, by Lisa See

I have a long list of books to read "someday" so once in a while I go pick one up, or in this case, check out the ebook from the library. I loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Shanghai Girls so really looking forward to this one.

How about you? What am I missing? Leave me a link so I can check out your haul. Also, make sure to visit our hosts, Team Tynga's Reviews. Thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Book Review: Taking Pity, by David Mark

Taking Pity by David Mark book cover and review

While I enjoyed Taking Pity, it is my least favorite of the Detective Sergeant McAvoy novels simply because McAvoy isn't in it enough!

Taking Pity follows the familiar path of these books, in that there are two seemingly unrelated crimes being investigated that somehow become entwined. Aector has been pulled from his medical leave to investigate a multiple murder that occurred in the 1960s. The perpetrator admitted the crime and has been in a mental institution ever since. He's never been tried and the authorities want to know if they should have a trial.

Pharaoh is investigating a group of vigilante criminals who have gone rogue. Apparently they can't even control their own people and are murdering not only bad guys, but each other.

There are a lot of characters and the scenes switch rather quickly. Aector is struggling with the devastation caused at the end of the previous book, Sorrow Bound. Although his wife and baby are safe, they are in protective custody and Aector feels guilty and misses them terribly.

The story is somewhat gruesome and compelling. These men aren't just murderers, they insist that their victims suffer before their deaths. If you are interested, you should begin with the first book in the series, The Dark Winter (still my favorite). The best thing about the series is that the characters have unique personalities, and the sleuthing is always surprising.

Published by Blue Rider Press, July 7, 2015
eARC obtained from NetGalley and the publisher
336 pages

Rating: 4/5

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

2015 EBook Challenge - Post Your July Reviews Here

Here's the sign up page for the 2015 EBook Challenge if you're interested.

You can see my progress for the year on my 2015 Challenges Page. I'm at 40 at the halfway point, so on track to make my goal of 75 for the year.

You can link up your June reviews HERE.

You can link up your July reviews below: