Entice

Danger, danger!  Stop here if you haven’t read both Need and Captivate by Carrie Jones.  You simply must read these two books before reading this post about book three, Entice.  You’ve been warned!

Another day, another book finished.  I think Entice by Carrie Jones is the seventh book I’ve read in the past week.  I am made of awesome.  (Of course, it’s certainly helped that school has been cancelled all week because of snow…but I’m still pretty awesome…and humble.)  I think I may take a little break after this post, partly because I have to go back to work next week, and partly because, quite frankly, I’m kind of tired.  Not to fear, though, I will still do my best to bring you the best in young adult literature–just not as much of it in one week.  Sorry.  Now, on to Entice, the third installment in Carrie Jones’ Need series.  This book picks up mere minutes after Captivate leaves off, and things in Bedford, Maine, are about to get a lot more dangerous…

Zara never thought she would be a pixie, but it seems she’ll do anything to bring her boyfriend, Nick, back home and save the people that she loves.  So she’s now a pixie.  But she’s not just any pixie.  She’s a pixie queen.  Astley’s pixie queen.  Can she convince everyone she loves that not all pixies are evil (just like not all people are evil)?  Will they ever truly trust her again?  Will Nick if she ever finds him?

More and more people are dying and going missing in Bedford, and Zara, Astley, and all of Zara’s friends must put aside their differences and work together to stop this evil from spreading.  Who is behind it all?  Is the other pixie king, Frank?  Or is there a larger force behind it all, one who no one really suspects?  The answers, I’m afraid, are not easy.  It is not always apparent who can be trusted or when trusting the wrong person will lead to even more death and destruction.

As Zara works to stop the violence from spreading in Bedford, she must also find a way to get to Valhalla to rescue Nick.  But how?  What will she have to do if she ever makes it there?  Will Nick want to come back with her once he realizes that she became a pixie just to rescue him?  Will he accept that she is Astley’s queen?  And how can Zara reconcile her love for Nick with her growing feelings for Astley?  There are no easy answers, but join Zara as she tries to discover who she truly is when you read Entice by Carrie Jones.

As you can see, there are a lot of questions to be answered in the Need series.  I’ll go ahead and warn you that not all of them are answered in this book.  I have high hopes that the fourth book will clear things up a bit, but we’ll have to wait on that.  It’s not scheduled to be released until early 2012.  In the meantime, there are many, many more books to read, and I must get to them.  So long for now…

Bewitching Season

Well, I’ve finally finished Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle.  To be perfectly honest, I’ve been trying to finish this book for about two months.  It’s not a book I would generally pick up, so I wasn’t really motivated to finish it.  (I finally did because it’s nominated for my state’s young adult book award for next year.)  While it took an exceedingly long time to get interested in this book, once I got about halfway through, I couldn’t wait to finish it.  The action really picks up in the middle, and I could finally say that I was invested in the story.

Persephone and Penelope are about to be launched on London society.  The year is 1837, and the twin sisters are preparing for their first London season.  These aren’t two ordinary sisters, though.  They are witches.  For years, they’ve been training with their governess, Miss Allardyce, who not only teaches them writing and math but also how to use and control their magical gifts.

As the season is set to begin, however, Miss Allardyce goes missing.  Persy and Pen have no idea where to find her.  The two sisters must also deal with unbelievably tedious dress fittings (at least, I found them to be tedious), a nosy little brother, and the inevitable husband hunting of the season.  Persy wants little or nothing to do with the season and would love to devote all of her time to finding her missing governess, but her plans are complicated when she catches the eyes of two potential suitors.

As events unfold, Persy and Pen learn of a foul plot to control the Princess Victoria, heir to the throne, and their missing governess is somehow involved.  Can they thwart this evil plan while maintaining their decorum in London’s most prestigious ballrooms?  Is this even possible?  And how can Persy concentrate on rescuing Miss Allardyce when she’s trying to decide who she should marry or if she should wed at all?  Read Bewitching Season to learn how truly magical Victorian London can be.

While I admit that it took me forever to finally finish this book, I do plan to check out the sequel, Betraying Season, soon.  Now that I’ve read Persy’s story, I’m eager to see how things develop for her sister Pen.

Paper Towns

Having read John Green’s previous two novels, Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines, I was expecting another winner when I started reading Paper Towns.  At first, I thought my expectations would be met.  As I continued reading, however, I found myself getting bogged down in a story that was as unbelievable as it was wordy.  Now, I’ve said before that I’m not a huge fan of reality, but Paper Towns was a little too out there for me when it comes to a book that is supposed to be realistic fiction.  That being said, I’ll let you judge for yourselves as to whether or not this is a good book…

Quentin Jacobsen is a bit obsessed with his next-door neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegleman.  She seems more than human to him, so when she basically orders him to accompany her on an all-night revenge-a-thon, he has little choice but to go along.  After this longest night of his life, however, Quentin discovers that Margo has gone missing.  No one knows where she’s gone, but she has seemingly left Quentin the clues to find her.  With the help of his friends, Quentin follows the clues that will hopefully lead him to Margo.  In the process, he learns more about himself and what it means to really know another person.  Will he find her?  Does Margo even want to be found?  Read Paper Towns by John Green to uncover the mystery.

Feathered

This was a weird one.  Laura Kasischke’s Feathered is the story of two girls going to Cancun for spring break.  Just by reading the book jacket, I knew things would not go well, but I wasn’t prepared for just how weird one of the main characters was.   Her voice didn’t seem to be that of a typical senior in high school.  It was waaaay too serious.  I just felt like there was something off about her (Michelle) through the entire story.

Of course, the two girls in the story do something they know is stupid, and it gets them into big trouble.  I’m not going to tell you what it was, but I will say that there are a couple of parallels to the Natalie Holloway case.

I don’t want to give the ending of the story away, so I’m not going to say much more.  One huge plus for this book is the author’s writing style.  It is very poetic and full of imagery (which makes sense when you find out that she has published seven collections of poetry).  That being said, I think this book is best reserved for more serious readers who like a very slow build up of drama.  Those who are just looking for a suspenseful book that gets to the mystery right away will be waiting a while.