Kirstie

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline had me hooked from the very beginning. The atmosphere of the book, world, and characters were overwhelming and had me on the edge of my seat most of the time. The history of Oasis and the creators brought light to the virtual reality world. The hunt for the Easter Egg brought excitement to the book but the real purpose behind the story was to stop the organization IOI from taking over Oasis.

I really enjoyed this book and it kept me interested constantly with all of the different pop culture references. I loved that I knew a good amount of them but the others gave me a reason to look them up and learn about new movies, songs, and games to be interested in.

The characters were very well done and interesting to read about. I really enjoyed the main character, Wade, because he was very believable and seemed like the type of stereotype that would be obsessed with video games and virtual reality worlds. Art3mis was badass and I really enjoyed reading about her character because she brought a new spunk to the table. Aech was the funny friend that everyone has and looked out for Wade a lot. All of the main characters were very smart and knew a lot about Halliday.

I liked that there was a villain aspect in this book and that it wasn't completely revolved around getting the Easter egg. There was another purpose to finding the egg first for the characters. It was a nice addition and helped keep the book/game balanced.

Overall, this book had a good balance of humor, knowledge, references, and video game aspects to please even the smallest portion of a geek/nerd. I geeked out during this entire book and the ending had me screaming about foreshadowing I noticed and things I knew would happen. It kept me entertained and that is something I haven't had from a book in a while.

I would recommend this book to so many people and I already have! Anyone that is even remotely interested by the synopsis should pick up this book. If anything, you will get a fast read that will keep you entertained. The best will get an experience that they can live through the eyes of Wade.

Book discussion video where I discuss the whole book! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESbHFsRyqo8

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas was a really fun and interesting fantasy to read. It has so much potential to be an amazing series and I cannot wait to dive into the other books that are already out at the moment! I loved the first one about 200 pages in and decided to buy all of the other books.

Throne of Glass follows this kick-ass assassin named Celaena Sardothien who is currently a slave in a salt mine. One day she is taken away from her duties and brought to the Crowned Prince. He gives her a proposition to be set free in four years if she will become the King's Champion. This means that she will be his personal assassin for four years doing whatever he wants her to kill. She takes this deal but she will have to fight other contenders to become his champion.

Celaena has to deal with a lot of obstacles while she is at the King's palace. She is being watched by the Guard Captain and trained also. His name is Charol. I really enjoyed his character because he felt real and would understand Celaena. The other love interest is obviously the Crown Prince himself. There is sort of this love triangle of forbidden attraction because they all shouldn't like each other. The two boys obvious like Celaena over time but she has mixed feelings for both. I didn't really expect there to be a love interest in this fantasy story because I assumed it would focus more on the competition and mystery itself, but it was a nice touch.

I really enjoyed this book and Sarah J Maas' writing is really spectacular. I got really into each characters story. The writing is in third person though and I got confused at times who was talking because at some points they just switch over right after each other. That is no big deal though. I just needed to pay attention more.

Overall, I really enjoyed the first book in this series and I think it has a lot of potential. I am starting Crown of Midnight right now and am already enjoying Celaena journey again. I think any fantasy lover would enjoy this series but it has enough of everything for any type of person to enjoy it.. not just because it has Prince's and Kings makes it a full on fantasy. There is love, mystery, and hardship in this story.

When I first started reading this graphic novel, it was normal. Just a bunch of kids road tripping it back home after... what? The school ending? I am guessing that. So the main character, Raleigh, is lost. She feels lost but mostly she believe that she lost her soul. Either after her best friend moved, her boyfriend left, or her dad left. She feels alone and lost in the world with no idea on what to do with herself.

Throughout the entire novel, she is traveling with these three other “friends” from her school back home. She never really talked to them that much when she was at school. They were apparently cooler than her and didn't hang out with her than once in a while during class.

The novel seemed normal until about 100 or so pages in. This is when you really get to know Raleigh and how she is feeling. You learn about how she is dealing with all these problems and how she feels. She is starting to deal with things mentally and they are messing with her head. She keeps seeing cats everywhere! And the word “no”. You start to see how she is deteriorating through these pages and how she might be losing her mind, but her friends seem to go along with it and help her out. She starts to open up to the only other girl with them, Stephanie. She seems to understand her problems and is willing to help her out. Raleigh was afraid that she would see her as crazy or mental to think these things. Most people would think you were a little crazy to think you had no soul.

Overall, this graphic novel wasn't really what I was expecting. It had a deeper meaning than I thought it would and it took an interesting approach to getting there. I really enjoyed the art in this novel. It was simple black and white but it said so much. I thought it would of been cool that the black and white actually meant something. Like how Raleigh feels and then it would gradually turn a bit colorful once she gets out of this funk, but that was just something I thought would be a nice touch. The author recommends this book to anyone that is dealing with confusion with their life and I agree. I think you could learn a lot from this graphic novel.

Elusion by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam is a futuristic young adult book and it was very interesting to read. I was quite engrossed into the book and read it quickly during my shift at work. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and it reminded me a lot of Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.

The main character, Reagan, was a good character overall for what she was going through. She was torn between her best friend and future lover for pretty much the whole book and some seem to see that as a weak thing to do. I see a lot of people tearing her apart in their reviews but how would you act in this type of situation?

She is the daughter of the creator of Elusion where you are able to go to an alternate world that is better that the real world due to the destruction. The readers learn that her dad has passed away in a plane crash which was really hard on her and her mother. Her dads co-workers take over the company along with Reagan's best friend, Patrick, who is a coder for Elusion. In the beginning, I really liked Patrick and I thought Reagan was going to end up with him then I realized I never read anything about a Patrick. Just this Josh character. You meet Josh near the beginning of the book also and I thought he was going to be a bad boy (considering his background) that helped her out of a situation. He was a real sweet kid throughout the entire book though.

[ WARNING THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS ]

This book isn't complicated but it isn't simple either. It is a quick read and you get engrossed with what is happening with Elusion. Reagan learns that there is a problem with Elusion that causes people to get addicted and possibly die. Most of the book is her trying to find the answers to what is happening to people and also get proof to expose the company that her father worked so hard on. Everything changes when she sees her dad in Elusion and that is when I knew something was up. How could she see him? It is just another world where real people go to get away. That is when I knew that her father was alive and possibly trapped in Elusion.

Josh and Reagan are trying to find the answers and by the end of the book they finally find her father in Elusion together. This is where he tells her everything he knows. Elusion is harmful to young people and can be addicting to them. When he told his co-workers, they trapped him inside Elusion and are hiding his body in a room at the company. Whattttt? The end of the book they find Josh's sister, Nora, in these parts behind the firewall with her dad and they have called it Etherworld.

The ending seems like this book is a series and I hope so. I want to know what happens next. This book is a mix of Under the Never Sky and Across the Universe. It has the technology of Under the Never Sky but the corruption of Across the Universe. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys those two series as well!