Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Publication Date: February 11, 2014
Publisher: Crown
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Length: 369 pages
Goodreads

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he’s alive — and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive.

Grounded in real, present-day science from the first page to the last, yet propelled by a brilliantly ingenious plot that surprises the reader again and again, The Martian is a truly remarkable thriller: an impossible-to-put-down suspense novel that manages to read like a real-life survival tale.

Book Review: We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

We All Looked Up
by Tommy Wallach
Series: Standalone
Publication: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on March 24, 2015
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Contemporary, Dystopia, Coming of Age

Before Ardor came, we let ourselves be defined by labels - 
the ATHLETE,
the SLUT,
the SLACKER,
the OVERACHIEVER.
But then we all looked up, and everything changed. They said the asteroid would be here in two months. That gave us two months to leave our labels behind. Two months to become something bigger than what we'd been, something that would last even after the end. Two months to really LIVE.

Mini Reviews - Throne of Glass & Cinder

Throne of Glass
by Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass
Publication: Bloomsbury on August 7, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 406 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Fiction

Jacket copy: 

When magic has gone from the world, and a vicious king rules from his throne of glass, an assassin comes to the castle.  She does not come to kill, but to win her freedom.  If she can defeat twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition to find the greatest assassin in the land, she will become the King's Champion and be released from prison.

Her name is Celaena Sardothien.  The Crown Prince will provoke her.  The Captain of the Guard will protect her.  And a princess from a foreign land will become the one thing Celaena never thought she'd have again: a friend.

But something evil dwells in the castle - and it's there to kill.  When her competitors start dying, horribly, one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival - and a desperate quest to root out the source of evil before it destroys her world.

This was the very first Sarah J. Maas book I've read.  I honestly don't know how I went so long without reading Throne of Glass, one of the book blogosphere's greatest loves.  Prior to reading, I had only heard good things about Sarah J. Maas and her writing, so I entered the Throne of Glass realm with fingers crossed for a good read that wouldn't disappoint.

And it didn't!  Throne of Glass was a book filled with excitement and thrill, and that for the most part, kept readers on their toes.

My favorite part of the book?

Celaena Sardothein herself.  I totally appreciated how different Celaena was from other main characters.  After reading a lot of similar books with similar characters and plots in the genre, everything just begins to blur together.  Sarah J. Maas created a character, Celaena, who really stands out above the rest.  Celaena is an assassin.  She's such a kick-ass main character with loads of personality and wit, one that I loved to read about.  Celaena was strong, fierce, and independent - qualities we all try to strive for.

And though there was that love triangle we've come to slightly despise over the years, it thankfully wasn't written terribly.  There was no annoying drama or cheating - nothing like that.  This book focuses on Celaena's relationship with The Crown Prince, Dorian, for most of the story, but begins to shift more in favor of The Captain of the Guard, Chaol, towards the end.  (This love triangle totally reminded me of The Selection, though.)

All in all, Throne of Glass lived up to its praise!

Cinder
by Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles
Publication: Feiwel and Friends on January 3, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 387 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fairy Tales, Romance

Jacket copy:

Even in the future, the story begins with Once Upon a Time . . .

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing.  A deadly plague ravages the population.  From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move.  No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl . . .

Sixteen-year-old Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg.  She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past and is reviled by her stepmother.  But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction.  Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.  Because there is something unusual about Cinder, something that others would kill for.

Cinder, the first book in The Lunar Chronicles, is a book practically everyone has both read and raved about.

However, before I get into the review, I have to apologize if you're a fan, because I've taken up the unpopular opinion here.

Unfortunately, Cinder just wasn't for me.  Cyborgs and lunar people sound interesting and all, but I didn't enjoy the story Marissa Meyer pieced together.  Prior to reading, I heard it took a few chapters to really get immersed in the book, but it took me, honestly, the entire book.  The ending was pretty much the only part that interested me.

What bothered me most about this book was the "jaw dropper."  Like all other readers, I want to actually be surprised.  Just because Cinder is a fairy tale retelling, it doesn't mean the entire plot has to be see through.  And . . . it was.  Only a couple chapters into the book, I honestly read this one sentence and knew exactly what the jaw dropper was.  That was just disappointing for me.  Knowing the jaw dropper only a handful of pages in really inhibited me from being able to enjoy the story.

I still stoically read on until the end, and fortunately, the story improved.  However, even though Cinder was able to leave off on an exciting note, I don't think I'll be continuing on with the series.

The Ghosts of Heaven - Marcus Sedgwick

The Ghosts of Heaven

by Marcus Sedgwick

Series: Standalone

Publication: Roaring Book Press on January 6, 2015

Format: Hardcover, 336 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Time Travel

Jacket copy:

The spiral dance.

The spinning top in her brother's hands.

The waterwheel.

The carving under the water.

The rope at her neck.

Timeless, beautiful, and haunting, spirals connect the four episodes of this mesmerizing novel from Printz Award winner Marcus Sedgwick.  They are there in prehistory, when a girl picks up a charred stick and makes the first written signs; there tens of centuries later, hiding in the treacherous waters of Golden Beck that take Anna, who people call a witch; there in the halls of a Long Island hospital at the beginning of the twentieth century, where a mad poet watches the ocean and knows the horrors it hides; and there in the far future, as an astronaut faces his destiny on the first spaceship sent from earth to colonize another world.  Each of the characters in these mysterious linked stories embarks on a journey of discovery and survival; carried forward through the spiral of time, none will return to the same place.

What to say about this book?

I don't even know.

I'm not quite certain what compelled me in the first place to give this book a try, as Ghosts of Heaven is definitely not my usual reading selection.  However, after reading, I do suppose I'm happy I stuck through the 360 pages, reading on to the end.

Ghosts of Heaven is split up into four extremely different short stories, all written in extremely different styles of writing, all taking place at four extremely different times in history.  What connects the four stories together however, is a shape, a coil, a never ending curvature, the simplest of all forms that connects us to the past, present, and future: the spiral.

As the reader journeys on through different lives, different stories, and different times, the mystery of the spiral is slowly unraveled as Marcus Sedgwick forces us to think, to ponder about this one form and how it somehow in some way connects everything.

I usually am not a fan of books split up in such a way, however, I do think in this special case, the four short stories could work together as a whole.

QUARTER ONE: Whispers in the Dark

Set in prehistoric times.  Written in free verse.  A story of a girl and her tribe journeying, venturing, hunting, "making magic," writing.  Spirals are most apparent in this opening quarter: the spiraling fronds of ferns, the spiraling shells of snails, the coil of the snake, the flying formation of the falcon.

In my opinion, Whispers in the Dark was the most difficult to love.  Perhaps it may be attributed to the free verse, or for the strange ways of these ancient people, or maybe, for another, unknown reason.  As I found to be true with the other three quarters, the story improves and intrigues more as it progresses.

QUARTER TWO: The Witch in the Water

Set in historic England.  Written as per usual.  The story of a girl, Anna Tunstall, wrongly accused of witchcraft, perhaps dealt the wrong cards of heaven.  Person after person, supposed friends, lovers, neighbors, all, one-by-one, turn against Anna as "evidence" piles up against her.

The Witch in the Water was by far my favorite of the four.  It was a bit easier to immerse myself into this second quarter as I was used to the familiar writing style.

QUARTER THREE: The Easiest Room in Hell

1920s America.  An asylum overlooking the sea.  Written similarly to "diary-type" entries.  Intriguing.  A doctor, Doctor James, meets a crazed poet with the most unusual fear for the spiral form.

This quarter piqued my interest as, like Doctor James, I wanted, needed to find out the answer to the mystery of the spiral, and why it haunted the poet so.

QUARTER FOUR: The Song of Destiny

The future.  A spaceship spiraling towards New Earth with 500 "Longsleep" occupants on board dying mysteriously as the decades pass by overnight . . . first six . . . then one . . . then eight . . .

My second favorite of the four.  It reminded me very similarly to that of Interstellar.

All in all, Ghosts of Heaven was intriguing, though written unalike many other YA reads.  However interesting, it was difficult to understand, process, connect, and rather unfortunately, was not quite my taste.  Marcus Sedgwick does not give answers, but instead, leaves the reader foraging on their own journey to discover the mysterious secrets of space, time, and the universe: the secret of the spiral.

The Program (The Program #1) - Suzanne Young

The Program

by Suzanne Young

Series: The Program (#1)

Publication: Simon Pulse on April 30, 2013

Format: Paperback, 405 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Mental Illness, Dystopia, Romance

Jacket copy:

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone.  

With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment.  Sloane's parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they'll do anything to keep her alive.  She also knows that everyone who's been through The Program returns as a blank slate.  Because their depression is gone - but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can.  The only person Sloane can be herself with is James.  He's promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything.  But despite the promises they made to each other, it's getting harder to hide the truth.  They are both growing weaker.  

Depression is settling in. 

When I took a visit to Barnes and Noble the other day, The Program Series by Suzanne Young was being heavily advertised on shelves.  As I now know, her second book in the series, The Treatment, had just been released in paperback the previous month.  I, however, did not read the first book, The Program, and so, wanting to judge the book for myself, bought a copy to take home.

By now, I'm sure the majority of you YA book lovers have already read this book.  For those like me who haven't, hopefully my book review will be able to help you decide for yourself whether or not you want to add The Program to your shelf.

I think what makes prospective readers a bit hesitant to pick up The Program is due to the fact that the storyline circles around depression.  I for one, didn't necessarily want to immerse myself in a depressed dystopian society for a couple of hours.

Be prepared: this book is no "buttercream roses and pink frosting," so do take heed from the jacket copy.  The world Sloane lives in is sickeningly flawed and absolutely terrifying.  Though the text may be quite disturbing at times, the storyline always keeps readers captivated and absorbed.  And if you're one of those hesitant to pick up your own copy, I say just go for it.  You'll be continually engrossed.

Something about the plot that was a bit different from the norm in YA novels was the romance factor.  Unlike the majority of YA novels in which a vital part of the storyline is about meeting someone and falling in love, from page one in The Program, Sloane is already wholly in love with James.  This only makes the book all the more despairing when both Sloane and James are thrown into The Program themselves, and for this reason, I felt it worked well for the storyline.

The reader goes on a frightening emotional roller coaster with Sloane as she tries in all her capability to fight against "the cure."  As the story goes on, the reader is slowly exposed to memory after memory of Sloane's, and though James is not present during Sloane's "treatment," the reader fully falls in love with him through her memory.  What's quite ironic about this, is that while the reader is gaining Sloane's memories, she is gradually losing them one by one.

All in all?  Read The Program.  The plot is riveting, the characters and their relationships are spun together skillfully, and though the story revolves around depression, the "darkness" only helps to emphasize the "light" and to spark hope in the reader.  

Now having read The Program, I have still to determine whether I want to pursue the next installment in the series, The Treatment.  As much as I enjoyed this first book, I have my reservations about continuing on to book two.