Genre: Young Adult Mystery

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Review: Strange Girl by Christopher Pike

November 30, 2015 Review 16 ★★★

Review: Strange Girl by Christopher PikeStrange Girl by Christopher Pike
Series: Stand-Alone
Published by Simon Pulse on November 17th 2015
Genres: Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult Mystery
Pages: 432
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating: 3 Stars
Heat Rating:one-flame

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Christopher Pike comes a brand-new fascinating and seductive new novel about a girl with a mysterious ability—but one that carries an unimaginable cost.
From the moment Fred met Aja, he knew she was different. And she was.
Aja had a gift. But her gift came with a price.
After a shocking sequence of events, Fred must look back at their relationship, and piece together all of their shared moments, so he can finally understand Aja’s precious gift…and its devastating repercussions.

hotmess ISNTA mystery ya

I have to admit, from the moment I read the blurb, I was sold on this book. A girl with special abilities that carry an unimaginable cost? Yes, please.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. I was so hooked on the blurb I couldn’t wait to read it, but it ultimately fell a little short for me.

I want to talk first about what I liked about the book. I really liked that it felt like it was written as a sort of memoir told of the events of Fred’s life and how he met the mysterious girl named Aja. I really loved the way it reads. The idea behind the story was interesting enough, just I guess not what I expected and honestly I liked Aja more than I liked Fred.

There was romance in the story, but it did nothing for me. Honestly, it was kind of meh. Maybe it was because I honest to goodness disliked Fred. I did not like his attitude, I did not like some of the things he said or thought about Aja and overall I just did not love his character. I just could not connect on the romance, it was sudden, it was odd, and overall a bit boring.

The plot was interesting, but I felt like there was a dig at religion in a way. This is a YA novel I felt like that could have been left out of it.

The story progressed quickly, characters offered up the info quickly. Fred was annoying and boring, and flew off the handle way too easily. Honestly, I felt like the author was bored with his own writing because the twist that was added at the end felt out of place and so random my head was spinning. (Also, someone watches too many action movies - cough)

There was an interesting take on people being selfish and greedy, especially in the end and what it cost. I wanted to throttle the character for asking Aja for what she did, I did not think it was fair, it was greedy, and I guess a bit part of the human nature.

I wanted to love this book, I did and I tried, but it just fell quite a bit short with me. I did give it three stars because I did enjoy it, to an extent. Just some things did not work for me.

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Wicked Reads: The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen by Katherine Howe

October 28, 2015 Review, Uncategorized 54 ★★★★

Wicked Reads: The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen by Katherine HoweThe Appearance of Annie van Sinderen by Katherine Howe
Series: Stand-Alone
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on September 15th 2015
Genres: Young Adult Paranormal, Young Adult Mystery
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating: 4 Stars
Heat Rating:half-flame

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A haunting, contemporary love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Conversion
It’s summertime in New York City, and aspiring filmmaker Wes Auckerman has just arrived to start his summer term at NYU. While shooting a séance at a psychic’s in the East Village, he meets a mysterious, intoxicatingly beautiful girl named Annie.
As they start spending time together, Wes finds himself falling for her, drawn to her rose petal lips and her entrancing glow. But there’s something about her that he can’t put his finger on that makes him wonder about this intriguing hipster girl from the Village. Why does she use such strange slang? Why does she always seem so reserved and distant? And, most importantly, why does he only seem to run into her on one block near the Bowery? Annie’s hiding something, a dark secret from her past that may be the answer to all of Wes’s questions . . .

mystery paranormal ya YAROMANCE

WickedReads_Sticker_15_2p2

From the moment I picked up The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen I knew I was going to have a difficult time putting it down. Howe’s writing alone was wonderful as she wove a story of heartbreak, love, and tragedy in a haunting ghost story.

Wes is starting his summer term at NYU and when he finds himself roped in to help a fellow friend film a séance, he meets a mysterious girl that he later learns is named Annie. But Annie is not like anyone he has ever met before, there is something different about her dark eyes, the outdated dress and her lingo. Why is she so hard to find?

The story was good. I really enjoyed it. This was more of an older YA novel as Wes himself is 19 years old and in college. He is a film student who finds himself fascinated with Annie and another girl in the book named Maddie. Maddie is a Goth girl he meets at the séance, who is also a squatter with an interesting past and becomes Wes’ love interest. Throughout this book felt like it had a love triangle in it, once you get to know Annie, you kind of realize it really isn’t.

Annie’s tragic past is just that, it’s tragic. It’s an unfortunate mistake that was meant to be for the greater good but ended up costing. I liked how this story was told from both Wes’ and Annie’s side of the story because not only do we get to see what Wes sees and how he experiences the phenomena that’s Annie, but we also get to see what Annie is experienced through her journey as well. I loved when all the pieces clicked together and painted the vivid picture of what was happening. Haunting and mysteries, the story was well done. If you are looking for something super scary, this is not, but if you love a ghost story, this might be right up your alley.

Thought I liked the characters and the bits of different mysteries about Annie’s life and what had happened to cause everything to go wrong. I found myself not connecting with the romance part of the book. I didn’t feel it, that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, It just honestly the story could have done without it. I didn’t understand the attraction of Maddie either. Thought a sweet girl, there really wasn’t any spark between her and Wes, no tension, nothing.

I liked the mystery, thought it was simple and the big reveal that happens about Annie’s family feels like something that was recently done in a book I just read, so it was a bit of eye rolling, but I liked how Howe weaved history into this story.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I really liked Annie. I liked the interesting take on ghosts by Howe and the writing was great.

“Go away!” I shout at the fog.
Still it inches ever closer.
“Go away, I don’t want you! I want to stay here!” I shout.
A tendril of fog gently touches my toe, and I kick at it. The fog spreads and dissolves, but then re-forms itself and moves softly, smoothly over the top of my ft, sending a delicate finger up the hem of my dress

What about you? What ghost stories do you enjoy? Or which wicked read are you looking forward to this Halloween?

Penguins Teen is also holding #TwitterGhostStory, the week-long event (taking place 10/26-10/31) in which you can write a spooky story in 140 characters or less using #TwitterGhostStory to enter for the chance to win a prize pack of the featured titles. They also have two more Twitter chats taking place this Friday and next Friday at 4pm that are being hosted by @YAbookscentral and @mashreads, respectively. The authors participating are:

 

10/23:

 

10/30:

Other Wicked Reads Picks for Halloween

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