Feature and Follow Friday!

Hi! It's very nice to meet you again! Feature and Follow Friday is a fun meme hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read. 

Q:  Birthday Wishes -- Blow out the candles and imagine what character could pop out of your cake...who is it and what book are they from?

BIRTHDAY BALLOONS! Lovely picture from JoyHey. ♥

The question this week brings smile to my face! :) My birthday is coming up soon so this question is simply perfect for my daydreaming. :P

I think Finnick Odair from Hunger Games would pop out of my birthday cake. He'd be the birthday gift itself, of course. But Peeta Mellark from Hunger Games would be the one who made my birthday cake. And he wouldn't be too happy to see me with Finnick. And then Adrian Ivashkov from Vampire Academy would come fashionably late to my party, and he would tell Finnick to back off because a vampire is the real gift, not some fisherman from district somewhere. Oh my gosh! I would finally get my long-awaited love... tetragon. Epic. *shed tears*

How about you? You may pick different character for your own love tetragon. :P

Thank you for stopping by, and have a WONDERFUL weekend! ♥

Review: Retro Geeks by Karen Mueller Bryson

This book is completely and totally adorable. It has all the elements needed to make perfect and Disneyesque book: two geeky and lovable heroines, mean popular girls, not-so-bright jocks, annoying sibling, and swoon-worthy heroes!

Molly and Ally are self-proclaimed geeks. Boy, do I ever meet any clumsier character than them! Imagine this. Their physical coordination is so bad that they hit each other every time they try to do high-five! But the girls are also adorable in every sense possible. They love to dress in 80s attire, and they’re not afraid to be different. Although there are times they lose themselves somewhere in their effort to be popular, you can expect them to get their chins up and stand up straighter!

Retro Geeks is a fun and light book you would love to read in one sitting, just like me! I really hope that this book could be adapted into ad TV show someday, because it’s just too fun to miss! Get ready to read the misadventure of Molly and Ally, and how they find out that the only thing better than being popular girls is being their own quirky, unique individuals.

Dylan pulled up the pig's intestines for the girls to see. “The intestines, of course.”

The girls gagged once again. The intestines looked like the school cafeteria’s pasta delight.

“Prom should be quite a romantic evening for the right couple,” Dylan remarked as he gazed longingly at Molly.

But the girls could not take their eyes off of the horror show that was the dissected pig.

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I rate this book:

Three cups of tea. I like it.  Recommended to read in spare time.

Many thanks to the author and YA Bound girls who provided me the review copy! Don't forget to check out the rest of the tour because some blogs offer copies of this book! :)

Review: This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

This is the end of the world.

Zombies are everywhere. Parents are dead. Minors are left to take care of themselves. Help from government never comes.

This is the end of the world, but to Slone, her world has already ended.

Six months ago is the day her sister ran away from their house, leaving Sloane alone to deal with their abusive father. Lily is the center of Sloane’s world. She is her sister, her best friend, her protector, her everything. Without Lily, she is nothing. Sloane is dead inside the moment Lily leaves her.

But now, Sloane is stuck in her school with five other kids. This is crazy. In the perfect world, she’s supposed to have died in the moment. But in the perfect world, Lily would have never left her either. She’s biding her time, waiting for the perfect moment to leave the kids and kill herself…

The first few hours after reading this, I couldn’t even form a simple sentence. My mind is a whirring jumble of thoughts, and I felt so emotional, shocked, and hopeful in the same time. The characters in this book are very real. They’re three-dimensional characters for me. When I close my eyes, I can see them playing scenes after scenes in this book in my mind.

It’s almost ironic that Sloane is one of the survivals when everyone else is dead. Sloane might be the last person in the city who wants to survive. She is broken, almost beyond repair. Sloane is apathetic to everything because she doesn’t see the reason to fight. The world she knows has always been cruel to her. Sloane is a very complex character. My heart felt wrenched every time I read the way she describes Trace and Grace, the twins in their group. I can see how much she longs to have relationship like Trace and Grace, how lonely and shattered she is.

It’s sad how selfish people can be when it comes to survival. Everyone is egoistic. Everyone wants to live whatever it takes. Characters in this book do horrible thing to survive, yet I can’t easily judge them. When it’s the end of the world, the line between bad and good is blurry. This book explores the darker side of human, and I love it for that.

Reading This is Not a Test is like reading nightmare. I was emotionally attached to almost every character in the book. It’s gripping. Awesome. Dreadful. Nightmarish. Devastating. This is Not a Test is a must-read because you have to determine yourself which adjective you would use to describe this book.

I turn myself over, slowly, painfully, and stare into milky white irises, all the capillaries around them busted and red. I lose focus. I see one of her, two of her, three of her. Calm settles over me. She licks her lips. I close my eyes.

This is it. Finally.

 

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I rate this book:

Four cups of tea. Amazing! Love the book, it’s simply awesome. I love the tea flavor!  A strong recommendation.

Review: Glitch by Heather Anastasiu

3.5 stars


It has been two months since Zoel started glitching. Whenever she glitches, her senses become sharper. She can see colors in things, tastes food, and feel emotion she doesn’t know what to call. Zoel knows that she has to report herself, but she keeps delaying it. She doesn’t want to be deactivated yet. She will hide her glitching, although it means that she has to betray her community.

When an aquamarine-eyed boy, Adrien, saves her from deactivation, Zoel follows him to his home and learns the truth about her community. Adrien told her that he has vision of Zoel leading the rebellion, but will his vision come true? Will she still remember her mission when her memory is wiped again?

Without the Link and its constant instruction, I was completely lost. This boy had offered me escape, but I had no idea what came next. He did.

I like the science-fiction aspects in this book. It’s kind of cool reading about the arm panel and access port in the back of the neck. These people are half cyborg, and it’s very interesting to know that they actually have heart pumping blood to every part of the body. Children are made in laboratories, carefully selected features from compatible mates. People in Zoel’s world are treated like slaves, incapable of any human emotions like love or beauty, and they don’t even have choice. When they’re old and not in the ‘productive’ age anymore, they’re simply deactivated. It’s impossible not to feel any pity toward this community.

Zoel, or as she prefers to be called Zoe, is a very interesting character. I think it’s clear that this book is intended for younger audience. She has overwhelming urge to save the day, and she wants to save everyone, even the villains, in the process. I expected to see more ruthless side of Zoe, but I like her naïve and kind side too. She’s the kind of heroine you would love if you’re more into strong yet compassionate heroine.

The love triangle is very strange and a bit messy. I don’t think that Max ever has any chance to get into Zoe’s heart. I usually feel sad for the guy whom the heroine doesn’t choose but in this case, it’s very hard to feel sympathetic toward Max. He’s possessive, selfish, and forceful. Zoe doesn’t feel the same way Max wants him, but it’s not the reason for him to shout at her or act like a child. Max does have some positive points, but most of the time these qualities are overshadowed by his dark side.

Glitch might not offer you something provoking, but you may want to read this book in your spare time. I did quite enjoy this book and look forward to read the continuation of this series. I hope I would get more attached to Zoe and learn more about their powers in the second book.

“Fell in love?” I frowned. “Love makes you fall?”

He laughed a little. He paused, looking up toward his brain, something I noticed he did when he was thinking. “It’s just a saying. It means that two people start loving each other. I guess because it can feel really sudden and because it’s powerful. Like gravity— an unstoppable force.”

“Love is like gravity?” I was still puzzling out the concept. “It sounds violent.”

He laughed and nodded. “But in a good way.”

Website * Goodreads * Amazon * Book Depository

I rate this book:

Four cups of tea. Amazing! Love the book, it’s simply awesome. I love the tea flavor!  A strong recommendation.