July Reviews 2013

    

                   
The 5th Wave
Grade: B+
After four successful "waves" of an alien invasion, the world is down to a handful of survivors. Cassie, sets out on what appears to be a hopeless journey to rescue her brother who may already be dead.

We love Rick Yancey and we are totally on-board with the whole alien invasion craze that is coming to all of our shelves this fall. We immediately put The 5th Wave on our alert list so that we could read it the moment it was for sale. But mid-way through we began to realize a couple of things- 1) We've read this story before and it was called The Passage. Just swap out the aliens and put in vampires. 2) At some point, toward the end of the book, it turns in to Ender's Game. 3) We know Mr. Yancey is talented, but this just doesn't sound like him (can you say "ghost writer"?). The online clips of each wave will grab you and it's not a total waste of your time to read, but we don't think it lived up to all of the hype.

     Belle Epoque
                      Grade: B

Imagine living in Paris and getting paid to shop and attend lavish parties, but only if you agree to accompany daughters of wealthy Parisians because they think you are plain and will highlight their own daughters' beauty. Maude leaves behind her meager country life for the excitement of Paris only to find that most of the things that are pretty on the outside can be quite ugly on the inside.

The author, Elizabeth Ross, does a great job setting the scene and creating the characters, but the story is a bit slow. However, if you like historical fiction, particularly one set in Paris, then pick this up.

     Black Hole Sun
                      Grade: B

On Mars, a planetary version of the Wild West, Durango and his crew of mercenaries for hire try to prevent a feral band of marauders from stealing the settlers' most valuable resource. -GoodReads

Book 1 of the Hell's Cross trilogy reads like an action movie- lots of action that you are thrown into without much character development early on, so you don't really know if you should care about someone being in danger. But, if you go into it knowing that it is just a fun romp on Mars, you'll like it. We really enjoyed the ribbing that the main character Durango and his implanted assistant Vienne give each other. It's a fast read and the entire trilogy is on our shelves.

     Eleanor & Park
                     Grade: A-

It's 1986 and Eleanor and Park, two misfit teens, are smart enough to know that first-loves rarely last and can be devastating, but they are brave enough to try.

If you are a fan of Dash and Lily's Book of Dares or just about anything by Sarah Dessen, you should give this one a try. We love the honesty of the story and the authentic characters. We expect to see this one on a couple of award lists this year, so don't miss out.