New Bloggers!

Think is pretty ironic, seeing as how I'm very new myself, but I've decided to post about two bloggers who are even newer than myself, and would love some support!

First, we have Julie from The Paradise Library, who happens to be a friend of Staysi and I in the real world. Yes, a world does exist outside of the internet my friends, it's shocking I know. Anyways! Julie has recently started up a blog and I would owe you all greatly if you'd check it out!

Also, a fellow teen writer, Alex, has a great blog up over here, where he writes about being a young novelist and what that entails. His first post is up, so go check it out and comment with your thoughts!

In other random news, Staysi and I will be announcing our prizes for this contest we've been working on for... too long. I promise, this time I'm serious. If I don't announce them before May 21st I'll... go within five feet of the crazy goose from hell that's been stalking me for the past few weeks. That's a big step, because I'm freaking terrified of any type of bird. See lovely followers, I DO care, facing an insane animal for you. All in a day's work. (c:

Stay away from stalker-birds,

Cara!

Character Connection! (3)

Character Connection is a weekly meme hosted by The Introverted Reader! It's dedicated to bringing the characters we love to the blogging world and showing their true colors. (This is also in no way just another way for me to rant about how much I love certain characters and want to pull them out of the book and go on wild adventures together. Nope, no way.) Anyway, read at your own risk!

This week's Character Connection is dedicated to Angel from the Maximum Ride series! *Some spoilers will be included, so if you can't stand to know anything about the series before you read, then don't continue reading. You'll just be torturing yourself later. While this youngin' is only six- or seven depending on which book you're on- years-old, she can kick your behind to next Tuesday if she wanted to.

Though Angel isn't my favorite character, she's the one person from the flock that truly scares me. She's just too BA for her own good, and I'm completely serious when I say that. Throughout the books, she seems to develop a new skill every week. This leaves me going, "She has gills?!" "She can communicate with fish?!" "She can transform?!" Add to this the wings and mind-reading/control thing that she already has going, and Angel is the most terrifying first-grader I've ever heard of. The good thing is that she mostly uses these 'gifts' for good, and even more often to help the flock survive.

My only problem is if she ever has a tantrum, the world might implode... literally. Also, I'm convinced that she is a secretly very evil little girl. All in all, Angel is very interesting and very well-developed, though this hardly makes her predictable. The next James Patterson novel is titled Angel after her character, so some more Angel drama is sure to come!

Be happy,

Cara!

P.S. Once again credit goes to burdge-bug for her lovely artwork!

Review: Maximum Ride by James Patterson!

So, I've decided to mash the first four Maximum Ride books into one post, because I've that's how far I've gotten in the series. It also helps that each sequel picks up right where the previous book left off. For those who haven't read the series, the first four books are: The Angel Experiment, School's Out- Forever, Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, and The Final Warning. I'll review the latest two novels, Max and Fang, probably within the next week, so think of this as a two-parter. (c:

Overall Rating: 4.5

Characters: 4.8

Plot: 3.9

Cover Art: 1 (I really hate every cover...in every edition.)

Favorite Line: 

This was so hard to choose, because I honestly bookmarked about every other page. The dialogue is too fantastic. For right now though, I'll just pick a few of my favorite parts to share. 

"'You are a scary, scary child, you know that?' I asked her. She smiled."- Max to Angel
"Get off her!"-Ah, Fang being all protective... I love it.
"'You...are...a...fridge...with...wings,' Fang ground out, punching an Eraser hard with every word. 'We're...freaking...ballet...dancers.'"-Fang, once again being his BA self.

Master Summary: 

The flock-Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel- are human-avian hybrids created by scientists at a facility called the School. Basically, they have wings-like 13-ft-wide wings. So life's all good flying high in the sky right? Well, if you can overlook the fact  that human-wolf hybrids called Erasers along with many other groups and organizations are trying to slaughter the flock at every turn, then yeah life's great.

I'm obsessed with this series...
Yes, I'll admit it, I want to join the flock... if only to stare creepily at Fang all day. James Patterson manages to weave an interesting and gruesome world filled with trials and tribulations, without the story feeling too dark. It's quite the opposite actually. The characters are well defined, and hilarious. They stay together, for the most part, and lean on each other for support. The flock really does make these novels, and I absolutely adore reading about them!

The plot(s) of the Maximum Ride series start off interesting, and fast-paced. This continues through the first three books, but starts to feel redundant in the fourth. I've been told that the fourth book is the... uhm lacking of the series thus far, so I'm hoping this picks up again in the next installment.

So, what I'm saying is that if you haven't read this series, do it. They're all great reads with even better characters. I hope you all enjoy this series as much as I did!

EDIT: Today I realized how insane it is that an uhm... older gentleman can write so well as a fourteen year old girl! Just another reason to read this book, it crosses genders and generations!

Have a marvelous night!

Cara

P.S. The fantastic drawing of the flock is by none other than the amazing burdge-bug! Click the linkymabob to see her 'Other Fanart' gallery, which includes some more Max Ride fanart that will knock your socks off!

Meeting Cassandra Clare and Holly Black!

*yawns, while stretching* Hello, world! I seem to be going MIA quite a lot lately, which is no good at all. Well, I've decided to just stop it and make sure this here blog is taken care of! So, without further adieu, I present to you my most recent signing adventure.

I hate traffic. These were the first thoughts that swirled through my head when my friend Julie and I ran frantically into the Free Library of Philadelphia last Saturday. I'm sorry to say, we missed the entire Q&A session. We literally had to run in the 'out' door because they'd already locked up. All of this because some ...lady didn't know how to pull her car off to the shoulder instead of blocking traffic. I can't even begin to describe the level of road rage I already have, and I've only gotten my permit!

Alright, back to the topic at hand. The signing, right. It was fantastic! I urge all of you lovely people to leap at the chance to meet either Cassandra Clare or Holly Black, because they are great people, not to mention amazing authors. We luckily were allowed to actually interact with them and ask questions while our books were signed, as opposed to being pushed along like we were on some kind of conveyor belt. I had the chance to profess my love for Alec from TMI, AND tell Holly how much her book broke my heart (more on that in the review). They also told stories about their cats, Lioness and Fuzziwig (God knows I can't spell that) respectively, and how Chairman Meow and Church are based off of them. It was like they were... normal people!

All in all, it was a great experience, and I wish I remembered more details of the conversation so I could share. Yeah well, you win some, you lose some. The big win of the night occurred right before we left. I was still talking to Holly, when she reached down into her bag, pulled out the first chapter of Red Glove, the second book in the Curse Workers series, in cute book form, and gave it to me. I freaked internally, read it in minutes, and let me tell you folks, the drama is far from over.

I will spare you, and stop ranting endlessly. I'm in a rather sleepy state, but alas, it is what it is. I will not be posting the picture of me with the authors, because it is rather horrible, and I like my readers' retinas intact.

*Side note, the picture in this post is of Clary and Jace from the Mortal Instruments series, drawn by burdge-bug on deviantArt!

Hope your day is filled with awesome,

Cara!

Upcoming YA Releases This Week!

On May 4th two highly anticipated (at least for me!) books will finally be released! That's right ladies and gents The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, first in The Kane Chronicles, and White Cat by Holly Black, first in the Curse Workers, will be available in your local book store this week!

The Red Pyramid:

Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane. One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives. Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set--has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

White Cat:

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Both of these look fantastic and I can't wait to grab my copies!

Have a great night!

Cara