Uglies
Scott Westerfeld

Genre: YA, Dystopian, Science Fiction
Series: Uglies, #1
Publication Date: 8 February 2005
Number of Pages: 406
Source: Purchased

My Rating: ★★★★

Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that?

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license - for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all.

The choice Tally makes changes her world forever... (Goodreads)

A long time ago in the year 2007, I attempted to read this. It did not work. I think I made it to page 80. Maybe. All I remembered about this book was that there were hoverboards. It didn't really grab my attention as fast as I had hoped then. It didn't this time either, but I know enough about the concept that I continued this time. After finishing this book, I feel like this is really half a book. It feels like it has half a story arc. That's not really a bad thing, but this book really is just entirely setup. The plot will hopefully move on a lot in the next book.

As for characters, I couldn't help but want Shay and Tally to be a thing. I didn't really find myself connecting with any of them in particular, not that it's bad but it makes me a lot less attached to the series in general.

This book also really rides the line between preachy and not preachy about the whole loving how you look deal. I never felt like it was yelling in my face about how I look, but it's there in the background. I knew that going into reading it though. The first two books are called Uglies and Pretties. It's kind of a premise of the novel.

I just felt very unfinished at the end of this book. Nothing is really finalized and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. Maybe 3.75 but overall I definitely enjoyed it.

April Book Haul aka WHERE DO THESE BOOKS KEEP COMING FROM

Alrighty, the end of April is nigh and somehow I have ended up with 10 more books. I have recently gotten rid of a ton of books, though. So this isn't too bad. I don't feel bad about this. (Especially since I've read 7 of those 10 already.)

Enjoy the video!

Books in This Video:

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Wither by Lauren Destefano
Grave Mercy by Robin Lafevers
The Hitchhiker's Trilogy by Douglas Adams

Reboot by Amy Tintera | Book Review

Reboot
Amy Tintera

Genre: YA, Dystopia, Science Fiction
Series: Reboot, #1
Publication Date: 7 May 2013
Number of Pages: 365
Source: eBook Overdrive Library2go

My Rating: ★★★★

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

I've been thinking about how to review this book without spoilers and I'm going to do my best and just believe me when I tell you there are plot points that surprised me because I didn't really think that hard about the premise of the book, but I'm pretty excited about where it's going to go.

First off, I did not know this was going to be a series and I am now extra anxious for the final in the duology. Also, after Google research, I'm glad I read this when I did because the second book comes out in about a month. It thankfully didn't end on the world's biggest cliffhanger and I'm glad that Amy Tintera made the choice of duology (which is much less popular than it should be) because I think that's about all this series should/could have. Planned or not, good choice.

Secondly, I had no idea what this book was going to be about other than people came to life after they died and I was pleasantly surprised. So that's great. The plot flowed very well although it might have been a bit repetitive at times, but not enough to hinder reading or anything. The setting was very believable and I loved how readers are given just enough backstory to understand what's going on and not so much that it gets boring. Just the right amount.

Characters. I loved the characters. I love how the descriptions Wren uses to differ between humans and Reboots - even the individual words were so well used. I also just really love Wren and I like Callum. My only weird thing is why did Ever have to be named Ever? It just confused me while reading because it doesn't stand out as a name.

There are a lot of very subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, ideas and social commentaries in this book. Which as a student taking many literature classes with lots of analyzing going on, I am very happy. This brings me to the parts that I must leave out for spoilers sake, but I am planning on doing a video discussion of this with spoilers and all that.

I really love Amy Tintera's writing and the ideas that are being presented in this book. Basically pretty damn awesome.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Welcome Back Me

Oh hello there.

It's weird being back. How have you been? I've been good and neglecting any self appointed responsibilities for the past couple months. Now I am back though. I promise.

Please don't hold me to that promise I'm a 19 year old girl and I haven't grown up enough to hold myself to those kind of promises yet.

I'm going to try though.

This is my Spring Resolution post.

My Spring Resolution is to actually post on this blog. I haven't stopped reading or making videos, I just haven't been posting on this here blog thing at all. So I'm going to do that more. Starting with my book review coming up in a couple of minutes after I write it and all that.

Here we go!