SCARLET by Marissa Meyer-REVIEW

SCARLET picks up right where CINDER left off. The excitement and adventure of the first book continues from Page 1 and doesn't let up until the end. Meyer masterfully weaves together the story we fell in love with in the first book with the new storyline involving new characters.

This time Marissa Meyer twists the story of Little Red Riding Hood into a thrilling science fiction tale.

Scarlet, a girl who helps run the family farm, sets off to discover the mystery of her grandma's disappearance and meets a rough and dangerous street fighter named Wolf. Little does she know that her journey to find her grandmother will lead her to the middle of the mystery about Princess Selena's true identity.

Scarlet and Wolf add a lot to the understanding of the complex political situation between Earth and the Lunar Empire. I enjoyed getting to know the new characters, but was always glad when the story took me back to Cinder and her new struggles. I loved Cinder's sidekick, Captain Thorne. He provides some humor in the very stressful situations Cinder finds herself in while escaping.

SCARLET has it all. Suspense, adventure, friendship, and romance. I can't wait to see what Marissa Meyer does next. CRESS will be released in 2014 and pull from Rapunzel and WINTER (2015) will incorporate bits of Snow White. I'm dying to see how she works all these fairy tales into this complicated dystopian, science fiction world.

 Little Red Riding Hood complete with hood and a Big Bad Wolf!

Scarlet and her grandmother are farmers. They sell their produce to the local stores and taverns in the nearby town. When Scarlet first meets Wolf she is startled by his looks, yet drawn to him. They are soon thrown together in the search of Scarlet's missing grandmother.

In the meantime Cinder is working at escaping prison before the Lunar Queen Levana has her put to death. Cinder and renegade Captain Thorne set out to find why Cinder is so important to the Queen and to hopefully find out more information about the dead princess Selena.

Both Scarlet and Cinder find secrets about themselves that have been kept from them for years. Will they be able to grasp who they each are before it is too late for the people of earth?

Scarlet was every bit as good as Cinder! I was not disappointed...well maybe a little bit at the ending, but only because Scarlet ends with a HUGE cliffhanger! I enjoyed reading Scarlet's story and her attraction to Wolf(there are a couple of sigh-worthy tender moments!). But I also enjoyed jumping back into Cinder's story and to read how both Scarlet and Cinder's lives collide. A bit of romance, a bit of suspense all set in a dystopian world~doesn't get much better than that!

It is always fun when both of us can agree on a favorite book! We both have put this on our favorites list and are eagerly anticipating future additions to the series.

CINDER by Marissa Meyer-REVIEW

Believe it or not there are actually some books that both of us agree on! Cinder by Marissa Meyer is one of those books.

KARIN'S REVIEW:

Cinder is an orphan.  She lost her parents when she was eleven and she and her family were in a fatal hover accident. She survived the crash, but only just barely. In order to save Cinda, scientists had to add a metal hand and a metal leg turning her into a cyborg. Luckily, a man adopted her shortly after her surgery and took her to the Eastern Commonwealth to live with him, his wife, and two daughters. Not so luckily, the man died of the plague soon after he brought her home.  Ever since she has had to live with a step-mother who never wanted her in the first place.
Cinder is the best mechanic anywhere in her region. She has a booth at the market and the money she makes goes directly to her step-mother. She has nothing to call her own.  She has two bright spots in her life – her android helper and her step-sister Peony. Her life consists of nothing but work until Prince Kai shows up at her booth one day. Prince Kai is next in line to be Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth and needs Cinder to work her magic on an old android.
Cinder tries to be professional whenever in his presence, but is always careful to cover her metal appendages. She knows she’d never have a chance with someone like the Prince, but she doesn’t want to see horror in his eyes when he sees what she really is.  Life becomes very complicated for Cinder when the plague (the same one that killed her adopted father) gets too close to home.
Cinder is thrust into a world she never knew existed filled with political strategy and deadly consequences. Will she be able to rise from the ashes of a world filled with death and prejudice?
CINDER is a masterful retelling of the fairy tale, Cinderella.  It has it all, the prince, the evil step-mother, the lost “slipper,” the “pumpkin coach.” I read the book in one day because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to Cinder.  The sequel will be hard to wait for. Cinder is a tough girl – one that can take care of herself and doesn’t faint at the sight of the Prince. Yes, she thinks he’s handsome and dreams of him taking her in his arms, but….she doesn’t let that fantasy dictate her entire world. She has priorities and sticks to them. This is a wonderful example of a book with a strong female role model.

JULIE'S REVIEW:

First off, don't you just love this cover?! From the first time I saw it I wanted to get this book and read it. Yup, I love a good cover!

Cinder is a cyborg. She lives with her guardian and 2 step sisters. Yes, this is a retelling of Cinderella. 

Cinder is a mechanic in the marketplace. She can repair just about anything.  Prince Kai, the soon to be emperor of New Beijing, brings his android for Cinder to fix. Cinder can't believe when the prince seems to be flirting with her. But Cinder knows that she can never be attractive to him once he finds out that she is cyborg.

When the dreaded plague attacks Cinders step-sister Peony, Cinders step-mother immediately volunteers Cinder to go to the palace research facility to be tested on for a cure. No cyborg that is tested on ever comes out alive.

When Kai's father dies from the plague Kai is made emperor. Being forced to marry the Lunar queen in order to save earth from war, Kai holds a ball to announce his coming marriage. Barely able to be civil to the queen, Kai is determined to save his people from war with the Lunar's. Cinder has found a hidden chip in Kai's android that will expose the Lunar queen's plans for war. She must go to the ball in order to inform Kai before it is too late.

I really enjoyed this story and am looking forward to the next book in the series. Cinder kind of reminded me of the Uglies, Pretties, Specials series by Scott Westerfeld. I don't even know why? Maybe because of the post-apocalyptic flavor to it? Maybe because of the advanced technology? Whatever the reason, with robots, spacecraft, cyborgs, romance and evil queens and step-mothers Cinder is a fun read and a great new twist to the Cinderella story!

SHATTER ME by Taherah Mafi-REVIEW

Juliette has been locked in a small cell completely alone for almost a year.  Isolation is all she knows.  For 264 days she has been silent.  For 264 days she hasn’t touched anyone. 264 days without information. 264 days without knowing what is going to happen. 264 days of wishing she was dead.

Without warning a boy is shoved in her cell and panic floods her body.  The closeness of his body is too much to handle after so much aloneness.  It doesn’t take long for her to realize who he is. Is it a trick? Why would Adam be in the asylum?

It turns out Adam has a very specific reason for being in the cell with Juliette.  Someone wants her as a weapon to wage war on those rebelling against the Reestablishment. What is it that Juliette can do? Her abilities are revealed to the reader slowly through periodic flashbacks.  Juliette doesn’t have anyone she can trust. No one who wants what is best for her – or does she?

It is easy to see why SHATTERED is being compared to X-men.  In the second half of the book the reader is introduced to a paranormal world bent on putting a stop to the controlling power of the Reestablishment.

What is amazing about this book is the writing. Tahereh Mafi is a master of metaphors. I wanted to constantly jot down my favorite lines from the story.  I really wished for the ability to share the lines instantly over Twitter or Facebook so everyone could see how beautiful the writing is.  For those of you out there that need help with metaphors, pick up the book, open to a random page, and I bet there will be one there.

In addition to the wonderful language in the book, the author has written one heck of a romance. Juliette and Adam’s scenes are HOT. My goodness!  Everyone is going to wish they had an Adam after they finish SHATTER ME.

There will definitely be a sequel.  I mean there is NO WAY there can’t be. Juliette has a lot to learn and a lot to do.

Violence= Moderate to high 
Sexual Content=Intense romantic situations
Language=Not much to speak of

FEED by M.T. Anderson-REVIEW

Titus is a a typical teen.  He lives with his parents and annoying younger brother, likes to hang out with his friends, and is always looking for something exciting to do. During Spring Break, he and his friends decide to go to the Moon.  That’s right – the Moon. Titus lives in a technologically advanced future where people cruise around in “upcars” and have chip implants for the Feed. The Feed is great. It allows the government and advertisers to learn everything about you so they can tell you what you want.  It allows you to access information instantly making school basically worthless since everyone already “knows” everything. Titus can’t imagine a better life.

When Titus meets Violet on the Moon he is instantly attracted to her.  Violet is very different from all the other girls he knows who only spend their time watching out for the hourly hair style trends and following the story of their favorite show Oh, Wow, Thing. Violet is great, but their relationship doesn’t get off to a good start. At a dance club on the Moon, Titus, Violet, and many others’ Feeds are hacked. They end up spending several days in the hospital for repairs. What Titus doesn’t find out until much later is, Violet’s feed was seriously damaged and most likely can’t be repaired.

M.T. Anderson paints a grim picture of what can happen if a society relies completely on technology. The ease and convenience of instant knowledge from the Feed is to us like searching Google is to our Grandparents.  While advertisers constantly bombard people with special offers and great deals in the book, we are rarely without banner ads on the websites we visit. The Feed monitors the purchases of people to better recommend future products.  Amazon and Facebook do the same thing in order to recommend things to us. We continually want better and faster. Soon we’ll be so reliant that we won’t be able to do without. Just think.  Regular cell phones that don’t require data plans are already becoming harder and harder to find.  Soon, even great granny who only needs a cell phone for emergencies will be required to pay $30 for a Smart Phone data plan she’ll never use.

FEED is a book not only about the dangers of complete reliance on technology.  It also covers topics such as peer pressure and first love.  Titus faces many of the same issues teens of today face, even though he lives in a world where you can take a vacation on the Moon.

I’ve read this book three times. Twice in print and once I listened to the audio version. The audio book is fantastic because it provides the reader with a taste of the Feed. Scattered throughout the book you get to hear advertisements and special news reports about issues the government is facing during the course of this story.

Sexual Content= None 

Language Content= Quite a bit

Violence Content= None

VARIANT by Robison Wells-REVIEW

Benson Fisher has finally found the educational experience he’s been looking for. As a foster kid who has been bounced from home to home for all of his life, he’s never had a chance to stay at a school for very long. He wants to make something out of his life. He wants to learn. He is sick of the competing for learning with the deadbeats at school who don’t want to learn. He applied for the scholarship to Maxfield Academy as part of an outreach program for foster kids and got accepted. He couldn’t wait for his life to change.

It doesn’t take long for him to realize he made a very big mistake.

Maxfield Academy doesn’t have any adults on campus. All the teaching is done by the students. The day begins with announcements from a man the students call the Iceman. Once announcements are over the daily schedule appears on the screen. The schedule is different every day. Sometimes classes may start at 7 AM – sometimes they may start at 1:00 PM. There is no way of knowing.

This might not sound so bad. Follow the rules and everything will be okay. But, things can’t be right if the students are locked in can they? And what about the students that disappear and never come back after going to detention? What kind of school has students acting as security guards patrolling the perimeter of the property on 4 wheelers? Why is Benson the only one who wants to escape?

VARIANT is twisted! Usually I can kind of see where the story is going, but this one was very hard to predict. There were a couple of things that REALLY surprised me. The ending absolutely left me going, “W-W-What????” I’m definitely interested to see what happens in the sequel. I can’t even guess!!! ARGH!!!!

Language Content=Some
Sexual Content=None
Violence Content=There is fighting that gets pretty bloody

SKINNED by Robin Wasserman-REVIEW

Lia shouldn’t have been in the car in the first place. By doing a favor for her sister, she has changed her life forever. A one in a million chance. The navigation system in her car malfunctioned and she crashed head on with another car. Her body broken – her skin burning, Lia waited for help. Unfortunately, her body didn’t survive the trauma of the accident. However, her brain remained in tact.


Lia wakes up several weeks later to find that she is alive. She has been downloaded into a new body. A body that isn’t flesh and blood, but circuits and wires covered by synthetic “skin.” Lia doesn’t want to be a skinner, a mech-head, a freak. She’d rather be dead. Instead she has to go through the indignity of learning the most basic of activities all over again.

Eventually, Lia returns to school only to find that the people she depended on most aren’t as receptive to her as she’d hoped. Companionship comes from an unexpected person. Lia doesn’t want to admit she isn’t the same as she was before the accident. She refuses to believe she is only doing what the computer is programmed to do.

Lia meets a group of radical mech-heads that force her to confront her situation. Is it dangerous for her to live amongst people acting as if she is exactly like everyone else? Is she causing the people she cares about the most more harm than good?

SKINNED by Robin Wasserman is a spell-binding, futuristic story filled with issues of medical ethics, family dynamics, and loss. If you enjoyed the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, you’ll enjoy SKINNED. The story is powerful and keeps you hooked until the end. I was excited to see that SKINNED is the first book in a planned trilogy. I desperately want to see what happens next in Lia’s complicated existence. Robin Wasserman’s website includes cool downloads based on the book like desktop wallpaper, screen savers, and avatars. Go check it out.

GIRL PARTS by John Cusick-REVIEW

It all starts with a suicide. Nora Vogel transmits her death live on a video website and David just happened to stumble upon it while he was surfing the Internet. When word gets out that he was one of the kids to watch, his parents and the school counselor become worried about the amount of time he and the other teens spend isolating themselves with technology. The school counselor suggests to his parents a Companion from Sakora Industries – a robot meant to encourage healthy bonds to treat dissociative disorder.



Rose is created to be David’s Companion. She has flawless skin, flowing red hair, and a direct satellite link to Sakora for instant information about the world around her. She has been designed specifically for David. He is HER BOY. Her job is to make David happy and teach him the importance of “human” contact. Each Companion is programmed with strict intimacy protocols. Rose can shake hands with David after 2 minutes of friendship or hug after another time limit has been reached. If David attempts to touch or kiss before the allowed time he is given a horrible shock. Even though he is extremely frustrated and doesn’t want to wait for intimate contact, he soon realizes he enjoys spending time with Rose and finds himself developing deep feelings for her.


Just when things are going great, David discovers something about the Companions that sends him over the edge. In a fit of anger he abandons Rose at a party and leaves with another girl. He doesn’t care where Rose goes or how she survives.


Charlie lives across the lake from David. They’ve known each other for a long time, but have never been friends. David has teased Charlie on multiple occasions because he is poor and an awkward loner and once even ran him off the road and almost killed him. If it hadn’t been for Rose, David wouldn’t have even stopped to check to see if he was okay.


Charlie finds Rose and gives her a place to stay after David kicks her out of his life. During her time with Charlie and his father she begins to develop her own personality, thoughts and opinions – something that could be very dangerous for her if Sakora Industries finds out. Companions should only do what they are programmed to do. Independent thought wouldn’t be a good selling point for their rich clients.


GIRL PARTS is a fascinating story. The technology John Cusick created for the Companion robots is super fun. While not all the characters are completely developed, the reader does get to know and sympathize with Rose. It is interesting to me that the robot in the story is the character with the most growth. The author leaves the ending open to sequel possibilities and I, for one, will enjoy finding out what happens. I rated it 5 Glasses and a Stay Awake Award simply because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened in the story – not because it is the best literary quality I’ve come across. There is a good side story involving Charlie and a girl he wants to date. Watching Charlie’s personality change because of his relationship with Rose is nice.

GIRL IN THE ARENA by Lise Haines - REVIEW

In today’s society we enjoy brutal sports like World Wrestling Entertainment and the Ultimate Fighting Championship – imagine, if you will, a world where we also couldn’t wait for the next gladiator match.

Lyn lives in just such a world. In fact, she is deeply entrenched in the Glad lifestyle. Lyn’s mother has had seven husbands – all Glad fighters. She has been widowed six times – her husbands always dying in the arena. Her latest husband, Tommy, is set to fight in a championship battle against Uber – a young up and comer in the Neo-Glad world. When the worst possible thing happens and Tommy is killed in the fight, Lyn, her mother, and her brother are left in a desperate situation. Either Lyn marries Uber and becomes a Glad Wife or the family loses everything.

Lyn must look deep within herself to decide what she is willing to do.

I really enjoyed reading GIRL IN THE ARENA even though the writing style took a little getting used to. The only reason it didn’t get 5 glasses is the ending. It seems a little rushed and leaves too much up in the air. GIRL IN THE ARENA doesn’t seem to need a sequel so the reader will be left with their questions forever.