Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

This is the second novel in the Lunar Chronicles series by Melissa Meyer.

My review of #1: Cinder.

WARNING - There will be spoilers from the first novel! Proceed reading with caution!

Near Paris, Scarlet's grandmother has been missing for 2 weeks when she got the comm saying that the police were going to stop searching for her. The police thinks that her grandmother, Michelle, ran away instead of being kidnapped like Scarlet believes.

Now that the police are no longer a part of it, it's up to Scarlet to find her grandmother. And she gets a hint as to how to find her when her father lets out a clue after he had been taken by the same men: they have a tattoo on their bicep of letters and numbers.

And Scarlet just happened to meet a man who had that same kind of tattoo on his arm.

So she went hunting for Wolf, the street fighter, to get her answers. And he has answers, just not the one that she's looking for. But Wolf decided that he will help her find her grandmother, since he knows the people who took her and where they are located.

On the other side of the world, Cinder is escaping the prison she was put into after the horrible ball Prince Kai held and where Kai found out that not only is Cinder a cyborg, she is also Lunar.

Now Cinder needs to run away, and fast, before she is exchanged to Queen Levana, queen of Luna, where Cinder will be executed for being a "runaway Lunar". Or that's what the whole world believes. In fact, she is going to be killed because Cinder is the missing Princess Selene, the little girl Levana tried to kill when she was only 3 years old so she would be the only ruler of Luna.

She successfully escaped prison with the help of Captain Thorne, who just happen to steal an American spaceship before he was caught. And so they are two fugitives who are running to survive for their lives.

But Cinder needs to know more about what happened when she was younger, as the Princess Selene. And the one living person who might have some answers is Michelle Benoit - Scarlet's mother.

So the two cross paths together, both having their very own big problems to deal with, but mutually trying to find the same solution: Michelle Benoit and the answers to their pending questions.

It won't be easy though. Wolf is not a normal man, and the men who stole Michelle are really not normal. Things are about to change for Kai, as well, when an attack occurs on Earth, by command of Queen Levana herself.

Can each character find what they are looking for, or will they run out of time and find that everything will crumble? Read Scarlet by Melissa Meyer to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I flew through this novel! Since I was already introduced to this setting, I didn't have the troubles that I had throughout the first novel so I was able to understand what was going on and didn't need to pause to understand certain things.

I loved Scarlet even more than Cinder, I think! She's spunky. She knows how to fly a ship, has a permit for a gun, and even used a few throughout the novel! And she is always looking for the good in everyone, no matter what the situation may look like.

The one thing she wanted the most was to find her grandmother, so when she found out that Wolf may have had a part in her kidnapping, she took charge and confronted the undefeated street fighter - very brave for a small female.

And I also liked how this book had different narrators, unlike the first who was only Cinder's point of view. The reader got to experience Cinder, Scarlet, Captain Thorne and Kai's viewpoint, along with one small chapter from Queen Levana.

It was nice to view all of these viewpoints because we got more of a feeling from each characters and what they were thinking about the events from Cinders revealing at the Ball of being Lunar and a cyborg.

I think the most entertaining character was Captain Thorne. He thinks he's hot stuff and is a ladies man, so the introduction between him and Cinder when she busted through his jail cell was very entertaining.

Cinder is one heck of a fighter, though. Not only is she trying to escape her fate from Queen Levana, but she is also trying to figure out how to control her Lunar powers. She doesn't want to mind control anyone, or make anyone do her bidding or see what she wants to see, which makes her polar opposite of Queen Levana.

I very much enjoyed this novel and I cannot wait for more to come! Unfortunately, the third novel, Cress, won't come out until 2014!! It's just now 2013... I don't want to wait that long! However, it's going to have the RAPUNZEL character in it, and I really love that character :) I do hope Scarlet and Wolf will be in it too, though the small synopsis on Goodreads doesn't say as of yet.

This is turning out to be an amazing series, so I would definitely recommend it to other readers!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

This is the first novel in the Lunar Chronicles series by Melissa Meyer.

Cinder is a cyborg. When she was eleven, she went through a procedure after a hoover craft accident that crushed most of her bones, and now those bones are metal and she has a computer programmed inside of her head.

That was also when she was adopted and taken to the states with her new family. Unfortunately, her new mother and the eldest girl, Pearl, didn't appreciate having a cyborg as a family member. And the adopted father passed away not too long after bringing Cinder with him.

But Cinder has Peony, the younger sibling, and Iko, the android of the house, to keep her company.

When her adopted father died, though, Adri, her adopted mother, made her work for her keep and treated her just like an android to do her every bidding. Otherwise, Adri could sell her for money, since she was technically her ward, and Cinder didn't want that to happen.

It just so happens that Cinder is very good at fixing technical problems, so a lot of people bring their adroids, communication devices, and other technical devices to her and she charges them to fix it. It keeps her busy and brings in money to keep her stay at home.

One day, Prince Kai showed up at her shop, needing her to fix his android from his childhood. That was the day everything changed. Kai thought that she was just a normal human, and Cinder wasn't about to tell him that she was a cyborg.

Then her sister, Peony, got sick - critically sick - and Cinder was sold to use as parts and other materials to try to find a cure for this horrible disease. It just so happens that Cinder is immune to this disease. And the doctor who was treating her seems to know a lot more than he is telling Cinder...

Things go from bad to worse as the Queen of Luna comes to try to marry Prince Kai after his father, the king, passes away. Queen Levana has the ability to make anyone see any illusion she comes up with - so no one knows exactly what she looks like. To have a person of that power in control of the Commonwealth would be horrible, but a war is about to occur with the Lunars if Kai can't find a different solution.

Cinder is stuck in the middle, being immune to the disease and having attracted Kai's attention, but she doesn't realize just how in the middle she is until the doctor finding a cure informs Cinder of just who she really is.

Can Cinder help with the cure since she is immune? Will Kai be able to find another way to save his people now that he is king? Or will a war break out between the two species? And just who is Cinder? Read Cinder by Melissa Meyer to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Many of my friends have read this and rated it very high, so I was intrigued to start reading it. But for some reason I found it very slow going at first. I think it's because this novel is a dystopian plus science fiction and I haven't read too many of that genre to really get into the setting.

However, I've heard that the sequel novel is superb and I knew I needed to get through this novel in order to fully enjoy Scarlet, since it's published now, so I trucked through it and actually enjoyed the story!

Cinder has accepted her fate of being a cyborg slave since she has lived with Adri, but she has used her skills for good and was able to fend for herself to fix machines and technology on hand. When Kai showed up at her shop, she was extremely shocked, but flattered that he would come to her and ask for her help.

I really liked Cinder. Even though I didn't understand half of the things she was fixing or how she was fixing them, she is a girl who does what she needs to do in order to survive. And she has perfected her talent for fixing objects, giving her a great image of a mechanic.

Like I said earlier, the setting is what threw me off, but I got used to it after reading past the first 200 pages. It did take awhile for me, but now that I've delved into this world that Meyer created, I can't wait to read more!

There really isn't a lot of similarities between this story and Disney's version of Cinderella, which I found refreshing and unique to other retellings. Meyer had a great way of detail to the point where I couldn't figure out what the heck was being done, but it seemed very legit that I didn't care if I understood it or not - that's how I could tell that Cinder knew what she was doing.

I'm really hoping that this series gets better, like everyone keeps reviewing about. It was a very interesting viewpoint of this story and I'm glad I finally got a chance to see why my friends gave a steller review for this novel.

So if you want a very unique, techy version of Cinderella, that also dabbles in other planet colonization and the world on a brink of another war, this would be the perfect book for you. I would recommend sticking this book out if you have trouble at the beginning, because it does get better and you'll want more by the end of the novel!

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

The summer before college is going to be great for Whitley because she gets one last hooray with her father at his condo near the lake. She's also getting away from her mother who is always complaining about her ex-husband, even though they've been divorced for 6 years now.

But everything changes when Whitley and her father don't go to the condo. Instead, he drives her to a house in a suburb.

Where there's a woman hugging her. And two teenagers in the background...

Apparently Whitley's dad is engaged, and didn't think to tell her about that BEFORE driving to the house.

And the other bad part? The son of his fiance, Nathan, just happens to be the guy she got drunk with and slept with at his graduation bash...

Can you say awkward?

So now Whitley is stuck living with her father and his new family, has an almost step-brother that she slept with and might still have feelings for, a new younger step-sister that wants to be just like Whitley, and an almost step-mother that notices a lot more than Whitley's real mother and father.

All she wanted was a summer of drinking and hanging out with her dad, who she only gets to see once a year. And some input on what she might major in college from her father would also be nice. But for some reason, he is "too busy" to hang out with her anymore. She hasn't seen him all summer.

When people start taking photos of Whiltey in drunken circumstances then post them on Facebook, where her father gets tagged in them, things are about to get very intense. Whitley's relationship with her mother, father and Nathan might not make it through the summer...

Read A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger to find out what happens!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I think I've become a fan of Kody Keplinger! I need to read her third novel before I make that official, but her other two novels are great and I loved them!

So, the book review. Whitley would not be my friend. Well, she doesn't "do" friends, so it would be problematic, but she's very dramatic and a partier, which I'm not.

I do have to admit, though, that I might have acted childish and upset if my dad did what Whitley's dad did to her. Actually, I would have threw a fit the moment I found out instead of waiting til the end of summer and got it off of my chest, because I wouldn't be able to keep it to myself.

The thing with Nathan was a little odd. But they met before they found out about each other and their new "living" arrangements, so it wasn't too weird. Just a little.

I almost feel bad for Whitley. I can't blame her for acting out and being a partier, for not having any friends, because of her life style for the last 6 years. Dad left, mom starting being a pain, older brother moved to the west coast - it's a lot for a 13 year old to go through.

Overall, I liked this book. I liked the way Whitley opened up, especially to Bailey, her younger almost step-sister. She couldn't say no to the girl and started to become protective of her.

And Harrison. The gay hot guy that Whitley suddenly found herself becoming friends with. He was a hoot and was very good for Whitley.

So yes, I liked it and while I may not have loved every aspect of it, the message was good and I grew to love it by the end of the novel :)

Now I just need to go find the third novel that I haven't read and see if Keplinger is an author to keep!

I would recommend this novel for older teen girls because there is content in here that might not be suitable for younger girls.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

This is the first novel in the Just One Day series by Gayle Forman.

Before going to college, Allyson goes on a Europe trip for teens to experience new things. Her whole life has been mapped out, ever since she saved a classmate at the age of 13 when he was choking and she used the Heimlich maneuver to save him.

Right then, she was destined to be pre-med and become a doctor just like her father. Before, Allyson would never argue with her parents - she just wanted to make them happy.

On the last day of the trip, she was supposed to go to London. When she was presented with an unexpected opportunity to go to Paris (since her group couldn't go due to strikes), Allyson does the most unexplained thing - she goes with this boy would offered to be her tour guide.

Allyson just met Willem the night before, when she went to see him perform a Shakespearean play on the streets instead of an assigned play that was part of the tour.

So Allyson runs off with Willem for the day in Paris and finds herself starting to fall in love with him. She knows around 10 things about him, but the feelings she has for him are overwhelming.

When she wakes up the next morning, she wants to spend another day in Paris with him, but finds that he has left her. In the middle of Paris, all by herself.

She finds her way back to her friend and makes the trip back to the U.S. in one piece except one: her heart. That stayed in Paris with Willem.

But off to college Allyson goes where she doesn't find any excitement in her classes or life. Previously an A student, she ends up with a C grade point average first semester. When presented the opportunity to change her major, Allyson starts to act like a living person again and realizes that she may need to start doing what SHE wants to do instead of what everyone else wants her to do.

And one of the things she wants to do is get answers regarding Willem. Because, even though it's been one year since she saw him, Willem is always on her mind.

One year later, Allyson goes back to Paris. She wants answers and is going to try her hardest to get them. But how will her trip go? Will she get all of her answers, or was the trip worthless and a waste of time? Read Just One Day by Gayle Forman to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I am a huge fan of Forman's previous novels If I Stay and Where She Went, so I was excited to hear about this book and get my hands on it.

For some reason, though, I didn't connect with this novel. At all.

Allyson, or Lulu as she was called for a little bit in the novel, would not be my friend, sorry to say. She was too timid and uncertain at the beginning of the novel, did a RANDOM act by going to Paris with a COMPLETE stranger, fell in love in ONE day, and then was heartbroken when she went off to college for a WHOLE year.

Obviously by all of the caps above, I have some problems with this novel.

If Allyson was a rebellious natured person, I wouldn't have a problem with anything I wrote above. But she was a rule person, went by the book. Then goes to Paris with a COMPLETE stranger?!? No. Sorry. I don't care how much someone wants to change from their previously life, I would NEVER go somewhere with a guy that I just met and knew next to nothing about.

But I stuck with this novel because I had an ending in mind that I thought would make everything that happened throughout this novel that I disliked better. However, I found the ending, lacking and frustrating. It has potential, but the cliff hanger ending didn't float my boat.

There were times that I thought I could like Allyson. She decided to stand up for herself instead of having her parents control every aspect of her life and she decided that she was going to do what she wanted to do. But then she would do something stupid again to make me dislike her.

There is a sequel coming out October 2013 and I think it might be through Willem's viewpoint, so answers could be answered that readers would think about during this novel. As of right now, I'm planning on reading it when it releases, but we'll see what happens when it finally comes in October.

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Hamilton High has a unique rivalry. Instead of fighting with another rival school, the football team and the soccer team fight with one another.

It started 10 years ago and has continued - all because the football funding was cut down to create the soccer team and have another sport for their school.

Lissa has been dating the quarterback of the football team for over a year now, so she has already been through this ridiculous fight for a season. She does not want to do it for another.

She tries to talk to Randy about stopping the pranks and hazing of the soccer team, but after he ignores her one too many times, she decides to take things in her own hands.

After emailing all of the girlfriends of the football players, Lissa tells them her idea: stop having sex or do any sexual things with their boyfriends - even if it means no kissing or holding hands.

She figures that the only thing that would stop boys from fighting one another is if they weren't getting any attention from their girlfriends.

While this is going on, Lissa is also having conflicting feelings toward Randy. And her eyes are starting to stray to a soccer player, Cash. They had a one night connection during the summer, but nothing happened from it. But now they are working together at the library and Lissa's thoughts are more about Cash than Randy lately...

Lissa is the leader of the girl's strike, so she needs to think of new ways to keep the girls away from their men. But after a month of being on strike, many of the girls are tired of being away and want to have a boyfriend again.

And Lissa is finding herself in a predicament with the guy who starts to organize the guys strike against the girls: Cash.

Will the girls be able to hold strong until the football and soccer players call a truce to their rivalry? Or will they give in to temptation no matter how worthy the cause is to stay strong? Read this hilarious story, Shut Out, by Kody Keplinger to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This was a great story! I found myself laughing out loud when reading and was cheering for the ladies all the way!

Of course, there were things I could have done without. Lissa was a little annoying. She was a little controlling, but that's because she had to take over after her mother died. And she seemed to change the rules of the strike after awhile, making it more personal than she should have.

The best thing about this book (okay, not the best thing, but one I really enjoyed) was that Lissa and Cash worked at the library! Library! Okay, my nerdiness for books is over now.

I really loved Cash. He was so charming but shy and quiet all wrapped in one person that it was hard not to fall in love with him. And the scenes between him and Lissa were pretty steamy, but also ridiculously funny and cringe worthy at times.

I never dated anyone in a sport, but I can imagine to any girl that is dating a guy in a competive sport would feel like how Lissa and the other girls in this novel feel when their boyfriend ignore them over choosing their teammates.

This book would be really good for older teen girls. I saw older because they talk about sex a lot (it's a sex strike) and because most of the girls in the novel are juniors and seniors. Other than that, older females would really get a kick out of this book and it's really funny in some areas.

Oh! Another thing I like about this book is it's a re-telling of Lysistrata by Aristophanes, which I actually read in college, though I don't remember too many details from that book, haha.

As far as I know, this is a stand alone novel, and I am already looking forward to reading another one of Keplinger's novel, A Midsummer's Nightmare, another re-telling of a classic story. Once it comes back to my library, I will be snatching that up to read myself and see if Keplinger's writing style is as good as this one!

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

Quiet, shy Jill Jekel has always followed the rules without question. But when her father was murdered and the mysterious box that she was told to NEVER open was sitting in his office, Jill sort of broke the biggest rule of all...

When Tristen Hyde came to Jill's high school, there were a lot of jokes between Jill and Tristen's last name, always linking them together. It never mattered that they were different social status's at school; the Jekel and Hyde team were together. 

After awhile, the joke grew old and students stopped talking about it. 

But both Tristen and Jill are extremely smart at school. They are also really smart in chemistry class, giving them the opportunity to compete in a competition to receive a $30,000 scholarship for college. 

When Jill found out that her father stole her college fund, she decided to do an experiment for the competition and, following their chemistry teacher's advice, got Tristen to partner up with her to create the "Jekel and Hyde" duo to grab the judges attention. 

And the experiment? Well, recreating the potion that Jekyll made in the novel, The Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of course. 

See inside that box in her father's office? It's the original notes written by Dr. Jekyll to get rid of the curse he created known as Mr. Hyde. 

Tristen was a little leery to join Jill in this experiment, but after having blackouts and not remembering events that other people do remember, he realizes that the Hyde curse has taken over Tristen. He wants to recreate this potion to get rid of the monster inside of him before he completely takes over. 

The chemistry between Tristen and Jill is undeniable, but Tristen won't get close to Jill because of the monster trying to get control - especially when Jill is around. He needs to banish the monster forever before he can start something will Jill. 

Will they be successful to recreate the potion to 1) cure Tristen and 2) save Jill's financial crisis she's in? Or will the monster overtake Tristen and do what it does best: kill those who Tristen's attracted to? Read Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections

If you've ever read the classic story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, you'll love this creative, well written, unique tale spun by Fantaskey. 

Or if you've only heard of the story, that's alright too since this goes into a more dark, haunting story about two characters who are connected from an ancient tale and a curse that goes back in both families. 

This novel is told through both Tristen and Jill's point of view, giving the reader a chance to delve in both characters and read their inner most thoughts and reactions to finding the cure for Tristen and Jill. 

I absolutely adore Jill. She reminds me of myself a little bit back in high school, though I wasn't as smart as her (especially in science, shudders). And I have to admit that I found the idea of her wearing glasses amazing, as many main characters in books I've read don't wear contacts or glasses. 

And Tristen is so torn up inside. He knows he's cursed, he knows there is a monster waiting to come out, and he knows he's done horrible things because of the monster. 

But he wants to get better and destroy the monster so he can be a better person again. And he also wants the monster gone so he can be with Jill. The chemistry between them is undeniable, but he still finds a way to resist her so she won't get harmed by the monster in case it comes out. 

I really enjoyed this book. Also, on the plus side, it's a standalone novel, so no waiting for the rest of the story to come later. 

I would definitely recommend this to any reader. I think guys might like it as well because Tristen has a voice that they can read and relate to. And to anyone who likes science  this is definitely up your alley! Pick it up today and get lost in the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde through Jill and Tristen's point of view. 

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

After 6 months, Nikki has returned from the Everneath, an underworld where she has been for the past 100 years (Everneath time, that is).

Now Nikki has 6 months before she is dragged back to Everneath. Unlike last time, she gets a second chance to connect with her friends and family, and with her boyfriend Jack.

But how can she tell them what happened? No one would believe that she’s been in the underworld this whole time, and they certainly wouldn’t believe her if she said the person who took her there was rock-star musican Cole.

The hardest person to reconnect with is Jack. He took her leaving really hard and hasn’t found a way to get over her yet.

Nikki doesn’t think that getting back together with him would be a good idea. She’ll be leaving in 6 months, which will put him right back where he was.

And not only does Nikki have to figure out how to live on Earth again, Cole followed her from Everneath, trying to get her to come back with him.

Nikki has some hard decisions to make. Will she go with Cole to a world where she will lose her soul or spend her last days on Earth with a guy she’ll eventually break his heart again? Read Everneath by Brodi Ashton to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections

Oh my, the story about Persephone and Hades has grown quite popular in the last couple of years in Young Adult literature! (For example, I've reviewed Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman and Abandon by Meg Cabot.)

This story was unique to other rewrites of Persephone and Hades so it was set apart from the other novels that have come out.

But for some reason I didn’t get into this novel as well as the other ones. Maybe it was the atmosphere of the story or the fact that Nikki had a hard time figuring out exactly what she wanted. I felt like the characters didn’t really grow as much as they could have throughout this novel either.

It was hard to tell who Nikki would pick between the two boys: Cole and Jack. And at times, both guys were part good and evil, so it was a toss-up. But I never had a person who I wanted to win out in the end, like I usually do in a love triangle, which was weird for me.

It almost seemed like this novel was bland for me. Not a lot of action, not a lot of romance, not a lot of growth.

For anyone who likes the Persephone and Hades story, I would definitely suggest reading this novel to see if you enjoy it more than I did. Maybe I’m just tired of this storyline because it’s been written so often, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea this time.

This is the first in a series, so maybe it will get better in the next novel, Everbound, that comes out January 22, 2013. I may grab it and see if it gets better depending on my mood for this storyline, who knows!

Abandon by Meg Cabot

At the age of 7, Pierce met a mysterious, dark man who was able to bring a bird back to life.

At the age of 15, Pierce hit her head and drowned in her pool, causing her to die and go to the underworld. There, she saw the mysterious man and sought his help to go back home.

While he didn't help her escape, he gave her a rare necklace that tells Pierce when evil is near. Then she ran away and went back home.

Now, at the age of 17, Pierce has had more horrible events happen to her than she prefers. Her best friend died, she was cornered by a teacher and a jewelry shop owner, and she's now moved to her mother's homeland, the name which translates to "Island of Bones".

And Pierce's mysterious man? He's on that island as well.

The more Pierce learns about John, the more bad things start to happen around her. But she also feels a connection with him - and she wants to help him because he seems troubled.

Pierce is always helping any living thing, but will this time kill her again...and keep her dead?

Read the first in Meg Cabot's new trilogy, Abandon, to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I absolutely love Meg Cabot's books! I have been reading them since I was little and I'm glad she is still writing amazing novels today for me to read!

I also love mythology, so this book could not have been more perfect for me to read!

This is the story about Persephone and Hades, and if you look at the characters names (Pierce and John Hayden) we can see that there is a connection. A little bit.

Pierce is very selfless. When she died at 15, instead of being concerned about her own safety, she confronted John and told him that he should give everyone else in line warmer clothes, fix their phones, etc.

I also loved how she wanted to help John, especially when he had scars and she wanted to fix it somehow.

This was very beautifully written and I was sucked into the story almost immediately! I've read another Persephone/Hades story rewritten (Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman) which I really enjoyed, but this story is very unique and I can't wait to read the other 2 novels in this series!

(I actually don't mind that there are more novels to come - which is saying something since series are starting to get tiresome for me!)

As soon as I can order the second novel from the library, I will be reading it immediately and will just have to be impatient until the third one is released.

I would definitely recommend this series to others, especially teen girls and older. Pierce is a strong female character and there's enough romantic tension in here to keep most readers happy and entertained!

Nobody's Prize by Esther Friesner

After her first adventure in Nobody's Princess (click here to see my review), Helen has decided to go off on another adventure at the beginning of this sequel novel. Helen's brothers went off to search for the Golden Fleece, so naturally Helen wanted to be a part of the search and see heroes capture their prize.

In order to travel with them without being recognized, Helen once again dressed like a boy and was a weapons servant with her friend, Milo.

What Helen didn't expect before her journey was that

1. she would develop a crush on another weapons servant, Hylas 
2. the great Herkules would fall in love with her boy self on the trip
3. she would meet a jealous, crazy princess who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted - including Helen's death
4. she would attract the attention of a power-hungry prince who would kidnap her and prepare wedding vows without Helen's parents permission
5. her monthly cycle would start in the middle of the adventure, ruining her image as a boy

Things are never easy when it comes to adventure for Helen.

However, with everything that came toward Helen, she took it in stride and somehow found a way out of every situation in order to get back to her destination: Sparta

My Thoughts/Reflections
I really enjoyed Helen's adventures in the first novel, but I found this book to be lacking...

Don't get me wrong, I love the stories that were told and the situations that Helen got into that she had to get herself out of again. It just wasn't as good as the first novel.

I honestly think that Esther Friesner could have ended Helen's story after Nobody's Princess and it would have been a great ending to a perfect adventure.

However, in this novel we were able to see Helen as a woman. She got her first crush, she got her time of the month, and she got more creative in her stories to get out of trouble.

Whereas the first book went through 4-5 years of Helen's life, this was just a few months from start to finish. It let the reader see how mature and grown up Helen became in just a matter of short time, which I was happy to see.

I would recommend this book to teen girls. There was a lot more about becoming a woman in here so teen guys probably wouldn't want to read it. However, if anyone reads the first novel and likes where it ended, I don't think you'll be missing too much if you decide to skip this novel.

Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner

Growing up as a princess with three other siblings in Sparta can be intimidating. For Helen, the 3rd child of 4, it meant that she would someday rule Sparta as their queen. Instead of her older brothers ruling, it will be her as the Queen of Sparta rules with her husband by her side.

When Helen found out that she was to be Queen, she at first didn't want to. It was too much responsibility and she had no idea how to rule a kingdom.

However, at the age of 10, she decided to take her own fate in her hands and become a leader. Women were supposed to learn how to weave and spin gold into gowns.

Instead, Helen confronted the weapons teacher who taught her older brothers, Glaucus, that she wanted to learn to fight. Helen started training, running barefoot into the woods to get faster, hunting meat with her mother for dinner, and learning how to handle a sword and spear.

Helen did this in secret, since it was not allowed for women to do these events. When her twin sister, Clytemnestra, traveled for her wedding ceremony at age 14, Helen went with to comfort her.

Little did Helen know, though, that she would be on an adventure of a lifetime, hunting boars, visiting holy cities, and running around town dressed as a servant boy to follow her brothers on yet another adventure.

Life is definitely not boring for Helen of Sparta.

My Thoughts/Reflections
I love mythology stories! This one is about Helen of Troy before she could add the "Troy" to her name. This is when she was a little girl who was just trying to found out who she really was. Everyone always called her the "pretty" sister, which Helen was not flattered by.

Instead, she wanted to take care of herself. The thought of having to have a husband for that purpose did not settle too well with Helen.

Helen was a great character, I thought. She was tough. Even when she was sweating, panting, and had rubber arms, she did not give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her quit. She pushed through everything her trainer gave her and finished what she started.

I was a little shocked at how young she was at the beginning of the story - around 9 or 10 years old. However, as the story continued the reader was able to see how mature Helen became and just how responsible she was - which is why she became such a great ruler when she got older.

This is the first book of a two book series. We are left with Helen on another adventure to catch up to her brothers - Helen doesn't like to be left behind when there is more to see and experience. I'm excited to see what will happen in the second, and final, book of Esther Friesner's books.

I would definitely recommend this to any young girl who wants to read about a girl who takes chances, doesn't take no for an answer, and is willing to learn. It's a great adventure and I think any teen girl will enjoy it.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

For my internship this semester, I had to read Fahrenheit 451 as it's part of the freshmen class assignment and it's also part of the banned book month coming up for the library's display. As an English major, I'm ashamed to say that I had not read this book before now, and after the first few pages I actually enjoyed the book and the message that it gave to the reader.

When I found out that the firemen were burning books instead of putting out fires, I was very sad. Who would want to burn books?!?

Following Guy's thoughts and feelings throughout him thinking about his life and his career was very interesting and it showed how this society in Bradbury's novel thought they way they did to destroy all books. Knowledge for us today is a great thing to have, but in this society, only knowledge about doing things was deemed important - not about things that made others think and criticized why things worked the way that they did.

This novel definitely made me think more about books in the sense that one gains critical information through the words rather than for pleasure or entertainment purposes like I do with my young adult novels that I fly through.

Radiant Darkness

Greek mythology was always fascinating to me when I was younger. I didn't get into too many of the original stories because, honestly, I found them somewhat boring (this was when I was 10, by the way, and reading on my own). I wish I would have gotten more into the stories, though, because when I was reading this book, Radiant Darkness, I found that I didn't quite know the story of Persephone.

This is basically a retelling of how Persephone went to stay in Hell with Hades, her husband. Unlike the original story (from what the author talked about at the end of the novel), this Persephone went willing with Hades because she wanted to live her own life and she loved Hades for the man that he was, not the evil God that everyone knew him to be.

The inner struggles that Persephone went through when she left her mother, Demeter, and her feelings for Hades were very real and it showed how much Persephone cared for everyone around her. She wanted the right thing to happen in both Hell and Earth, and she certainly was not afraid to tell Hades what she thought of his ruling in Hell!!

One thing that did sort of bother me at the beginning of the story was that Demeter always called Persephone a child. With this being said, I started to see Persephone as a child and when Hades started to see Persephone, it was a little weird because Hades has a beard - which shows that he is certainly not a child!

Otherwise, this story was amazing! I want to go and read all of the original Greek mythology stories because it seems to be the new trend in today's society to rewrite/revamp Greek mythology stories and I want to know how right/similar they are to the original story.

Oh, and one more great thing about this novel? It's a stand alone!! I don't have to wait impatiently for the next novel to come out!