Review of The Maze Runner

And for for next winner of my book review contest, I present you with a review of The Maze Runner, a very popular book here at my intermediate school.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner


Review by Ray Henriksen




4 out of 5 stars for The Maze Runner
Sixteen year old Thomas mysteriously wakes up on a huge, dark elevator with no memory of how we got there. Eventually the elevator stops, and he finds himself in “The Glade”, a large grassland surrounded by massive steel walls, with doors that defy gravity. “The Glade” is inhabited by 60 other teenage boys. But the next day, a girl shows up, breaking the normal schedule of new arrivals. More importantly, the note she was carrying could end them all . . .

I liked this book because it is right up my alley of fast-paced, action-packed novels. I liked how the plot pretty much included everything: distrust, action, mystery, memory swipe, etc. Another good thing is how almost everything is realistic enough for me to really connect with the character. My favorite part is during the climax when they are forced to battle the seemingly invulnerable creatures that surround them.

Now comes an author’s least favorite part: the bad things. Honestly, I can’t think of too many things that I didn’t like, but no book is perfect. There are some questions unanswered. You would hope that they will be answered in the sequel (some are, but some aren’t). There were a few slow parts sprinkled throughout the story, but none longer that two or three pages.

The genre of The Maze Runner is science-fiction, but the characters are very realistic. If you enjoy fast, suspenseful, action-based novels, then this book is right for you.

Review of The Ordinary Princess

My second book review winner is Emily.  See her review below:

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye


Reviewed by: Emily Vergaray


Five Royal Crowns for The Ordinary Princess

In The Ordinary Princess, written by M. M. Kaye, day old Serene Royal Highness, Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminra Adelaide Aurelia Anne’s life is turned up-side down when one of her many fairy god-mothers, Crustacea, gives her the gift of being ordinary. Years pass and Amethyst becomes more and more ordinary. Her hair turns mousy brown, has a turned up nose, and freckles. She was so ordinary that no prince wanted to marry her, but who would want to marry a stuck-up prince anyway? Running off into the forest sounds like a perfectly good way to spend her life, and as the story continues, an enchanting adventure unfurls itself.

I loved this book because it’s fast-paced, romantic story. It’s one of those books that you just can’t put down about a perfect friendship that turns into a romance. There isn’t much that I didn’t like about this book. The only thing that would have made it better was if the author continued the story. It would have been nice to hear more about the future of the ordinary princess.

This book is a cheerful, fast-paced, adventurous, funny romance that every one of all ages would like. If you like books like Beastly, then you will love reading The Ordinary Princess.

Book Review Contest

I held a book review contest with my 7th grade students.  They were asked to pick a fiction novel of their choice, and the winners get to be featured on our blog.  I will be posting one a day of the next seven days.  See the first winner's below!

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
Review by Beka Carnell

4 out of 5 stars for The Last Song:



In The Last Song, Nicholas Sparks told the story of Ronnie Miller, a troubled teen sent off with her little brother to her dad’s house for the summer. Ronnie always resented her dad for leaving their family. While Ronnie stays for the summer, she finds herself getting into some trouble and falling for blonde-haired, blue-eyed Will Blakelee, who understands her more that she ever thought anyone could, but when her father becomes sick, her worlds seems to fall apart.


The Last Song is one of my favorite books. I loved the strong, real passionate connection between Will and Ronnie. I loved it when he took her fishing because, even though she thought it was disgusting, he was not afraid to show his true self.
The only part I didn’t like about this book was the conflict between Will, Scott, and Marcus. I found it confusing and hard to follow.
If you like falling in love and summer romances, you will fall in love with this book. I found myself unable to put this book down. This love between Ronnie and Will felt so real. Also, if you liked A Walk to Remember, you will love this book. The Last Song is a page-turning, suspense-filled, romantic story and is something everyone should read.

Back to Work

Staci and I took a nice long break after finishing our novel, STATIC, in December.  But we are now back at it again and have started plotting out our next manuscript.  I think we are both ready to get back in the swing of things. 

Unfortunately, we haven't had any luck on our hunt for an agent for STATIC, which is disappointing, but I guess it's all about patience.  Hopefully, an agent will snatch it up soon.  We decided that our query letter needed work, so Staci asked if anyone from our YA RWA loop would be willing to take a look at it and give us some feedback.  There are some great people on the loop that offered to help, and Staci and I were a bit star struck when Simone Elkeles, author of Perfect Chemistry (one of my favorite books!), offered to help us out.  Really, how cool is that?!  If you haven't read her books, where have you been?  Elkeles is and will remain one of the greats among YA authors!  She and a few others offered a lot of feedback, so maybe we will have better luck with our new query.  We are truly grateful to those authors who were willing to help us out. 

SINFUL has received some great reviews, and if you've read it, we would love for you to review it on Amazon, barnesandnoble.com, Good Reads, or your blog!  Here's a review from Nocturne Romance Reads:
http://www.nocturnereads.com/Sinful-dailey-weber.html

We hope the good reviews keep rolling in :)  That's all for now!  Happy reading and writing folks!

Cheers!

Sara

Book Giveaway at For the Love of Reading

Hey Guys and Gals,

Happy Holidays!  There is an autographed copy of SINFUL up for grabs at a blog called For the Love of Reading.  Follow the link below to enter!

http://www.ikissbooks.blogspot.com/

Also, Staci and I are back on the literary agent hunt, so wish us well.  Hopefully, we can find someone to love STATIC soon, and then it will be that much closer to being on a book store shelf!

We hope you all have a very merry holiday!

Sara

Listmania

I just created a list of some of my all-time favorite YA novels on Amazon's Listmania, so if you are looking for a good young adult book to read or buy for a Christmas gift, check it out. 

http://www.amazon.com/lm/R27O6N4D5NAXTR/ref=cm_lm_pthnk_view?ie=UTF8&lm_bb=

I couldn't possibly pick a favorite YA book, but one of my new favs is Numbers, by Rachel Ward.  It's edgy, dark, and much different from the average run-of-the-mill YA novels.  It was a pleasant surprise because I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I ended up loving it.

Don't forget, SINFUL is now available on barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com! 

Happy Holidays!

Sara

Book Give-Away at YA Books Central

Want to win an autographed copy of SINFUL?  We are giving away 5 signed copies at YA Books Central, so follow the link below to sign up!  You could be a lucky winner!

http://www.yabookscentral.com/cfusion/index.cfm?fuseAction=home.sinful

Cheers!

Sara