Review of Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

***** 5 stars

What an interestingly written book! It is written like no other book I’ve ever read before. Almost like a comic book or graphic novel, but the pictures are made of words. The whole story consists of files, reports, messages, etc. It is in fact a report compiled by someone about what transpired on the Planet Kerenza, and after.

It is such a captivating read. I was really surprised that you can tell a whole story, in enough detail, with just emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and such. Very creative! I’ll definitely be reading the next two books in this series soon (Gemina & Obsidio).

I fell in love with the two main characters from the start, and empathized with them, their situation, their very complicated relationship. The character building is so good. Kady and Ezra really grow as people from childish teens to more responsible young adults.

The way it is written make for an awesome read that never bores. The twists (yes, plural!) in the end are something I never would have predicted. And I absolutely love unpredictable books! This is definitely one of the very few 5 star reads I’ve had in a while!

It is classified as a young adult book, but it is quite graphic in some scenes, I would not recommend it to younger teenagers. It has a lot of violence in it more suitable for older teenagers/young adults.

Review of Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Everyone loses something to the Tox; Hetty lost her eye, Reese's hand has changed, and Byatt just disappeared completely.

It’s been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put in quarantine. The Tox turned the students strange and savage, the teachers died off one by one. Cut off from the mainland, the girls don’t dare wander past the school’s fence where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure as the Tox takes; their bodies becoming sick and foreign, things bursting out of them, bits missing.

But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her best friend, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie in the wilderness past the fence. As she digs deeper, she learns disturbing truths about her school and what else is living on Raxter Island. And that the cure might not be a cure at all...

**** 4 stars

This was a very interesting read for me. It was written nicely throughout the whole book, which made it a pleasant read. It does require a lot of trigger warnings, though. (I’ll mention some below) The book is classified as Young Adult, but I would say that you should be a bit of an older young adult to not get scarred by some of the things going on in this story.

It is brutal and does not try to sugar coat what really happens. I would say it is borderline horror. Which I like!  I describe it as similar to Lord of the Flies, but with girls. Without giving any spoilers, there are animal deaths, human deaths and maiming. And the animals are, well, lets just say they’re not like they used to be.

The ending is a bit weird. It didn’t fit in with the rest of the story for me. But, that’s just me.

Trigger warnings:

Suicide, suicidal tendencies

Violence (graphic)

Gore

Parental death, animal death, character death

Starvation

Non-consensual medical treatments

Body mutilations

Reading Slump - A Reader's Worst Nightmare

As you might have guessed, I am going through a terrible reading slump the last few weeks or so and I absolutely hate reading slumps!

After I finished my last book, I went through my TBR list to find my next read. Picked up the book and started reading. A few chapters in, I start to realize I’m not into it. And no matter how hard I try to force myself to finish, I simply can’t. Ok, fine. Next book, same. And the next lot after that too. At one point I must have stood in front of my bookcases for a full 15 minutes, if not longer, trying to find something, and I have lots of books. I even tried reading something I’ve read before and enjoyed a lot. Nope, nothing works.

Now my question is, does everyone go through something like this, or am I just weird (which I am)? I get slumps like these often. Especially after I finished a really good book. Then all others seem to be dull and boring. Even if at any other time I would have enjoyed it immensely. It is so frustrating, because reading is like an addiction for me. I cannot not read. Impossible.

So what is the solution? What do you do if this happens? Do you have a list of go to books? All I can do is pick up book after book and hope (pray!!) that the next one will be THE ONE. Yes, I end up half/quarter reading several books (sometimes up to 10!) before one captures me so completely, I never want it to end. But what else am I supposed to do? I can’t just sit on the couch and stare at nothing. Yeah, I’m weird, but that would be pushing it a bit. I might just get admitted.

So, let me know what you do in a situation like this.

Here are a few quotes I love:

“Never force yourself to read a book that you do not enjoy. There are so many good books in the world that it is foolish to waste time on one that does not give you pleasure.” 
― Atwood H. Townsend, Good Reading

“When you stand in the darkness, when you have lost all hope, when you can’t see any path to walk ahead, read; reading will act as the lantern to show you the path. It might not take you to the destination, but it will keep on guiding you towards a resolution.” 
― Neelabh Pratap Singh, Pi Agency

“Read! It is as important as breathing until you are breathing.” 
― Hira Shahid Kazim