“I would rather be punished for making the right decision than live with the guilt of making the wrong one for the rest of my life.”
Ok, this book was so awesomely amazing! I kind of had to finish this book in one day, since it was due the next, but it was still worth the read. Honestly, I feel like the summary could have been way better. I wasn't sure if this book would be worth reading, or if I would be able to finish it in one day. But, after the first couple of pages, things became much more interesting. Sophie Foster is a child prodigy, a 12-year-old senior in high school. Along with that, she's a telepath, her greatest secret, something's she hiding from the rest of the human world. All that changes when one day she meets another telepath. And then a whole new world opens up to her. Will she be willing to make sacrifices to follow what she truly is? And why are there so many secrets behind what she really is? Sophie has much to learn, especially since she has a special and rare mind. But that's just the beginning of it all. At first, I thought it was kind of similar to the Harry Potter series, with Sophie being special and all. Of course, she is exceptionally different from everyone else when the book starts. She's twelve years old and in high school, and she is just kind of a plain misfit. She was even offered a full scholarship from Yale. “She pulled her shoulder-length blond hair around her face, wishing she could hide behind it. This is exactly the kind of attention she went out of her way to avoid. Why she wore dull colors and lurked in the back, blocked by the other kids who were at least a foot taller than her. It was the only way to survive as a twelve year old in high school.” I think the author did a great job at setting the stage for what was going to happen. I could see into Sophie's life and kind of "witness" how her telepathy kind of impacts it. This also gave me a sort of connection with the character, I felt sympathy for her which was kind of good and bad for me. It was good because I wanted to see how the author would lift this curtain and put her into a new world of a more different mood. In a way, it was kind of bad for me because I wasn't super interested in a book about how a poor little girl with special powers doesn't have the best life. This book was also pretty fast paced which isn't a bad thing at all. I don't really care what pace a book goes, I only really care if it takes like half the book to get better. She meets Fitz right away, the other telepath, and I don't think it would be a spoiler to say that since it even says it in the summary. “He grabbed her arms to steady her. "It's ok, Sophie. I'm here to help you. We've been looking for you for twelve years.” Yes, the mystery was great, but a lot of things that were super secret-y were more revealed in the end. A lot of the major things were already revealed within the first 5o pages. So I don't think it would be a spoiler if I said that Sophie has to consider if she wants to stay in the human world or go to live where she belongs since she's an elf. The secrets and danger kind of kept you on the edge of your seat though. A lot of things were classified information, and it motivated me to keep reading. Sophie also told the story with much emotion. You could see how she felt about her friends, her life, and her teachers, as well as other things that come up. This, again, helped me see a connection with the character, and it was easier to read and determine her personality that way. Sophie also has very rare abilities, things she can do with her mind. (view spoiler) I think that this added to the excitement of the story since she seems to have a connection with the "secret information". One more example of awesome writing: “No more notes. No more clues. She’d followed them to this point, and now it came down to her. She wasn’t the Black Swan’s puppet anymore. She was broken. All she had left was trust.” To conclude this, I would say that this is a book that is definitely worth reading. I had so much fun reading this book in a way because of how unique it was. It was fantasy (sort of) mixed in with sci-fi, and it had action-packed in all throughout. And even though this book was super like, action! it still had family and friendship problems sprinkled into the mixture. So, definitely 5 stars all the way. I would recommend to people who have read the first Harry Potter book, and middle-grade readers.
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An Intriguing Story of Betrayal and Strength
Imagine a society where you're considered "ugly" for most of your life. Until you turn "pretty". It's a world where everyone thinks the same, all the pretties look the same, a world of utter sameness. This book is something I would recommend to all people who enjoy dystopia and a book that has building suspense and action. It's packed with lots of description that helped me really envision the book at a new level, action, and many challenges that characters have to face. In Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, we learn that we should find our identity through what we think, not what everyone else thinks. Tally Youngblood is a 15 year old "ugly" looking forward to the operation that turns her pretty, a person with big beautiful eyes, perfect skin, a symmetrical face, everything anyone would want. Until she meets Shay, a girl who wants to escape to a place called the Smoke, where you never have to be changed. When Shay escapes, Tally is sent to the Smoke to bring her back, but Tally experiences a whole new world of freedom and possibility there. Tally has to decide between pretty-ness and a whole new life. In the end, we learn that who we want to be should be found through what we think, not what other people tell us or think. From the beginning, this book had descriptions that helped me envision things at a whole new level. Westerfeld writes“The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit. […] The scudding clouds did look a bit fishy, rippled into scales by a high-altitude wind. As the light faded, deep blue gaps of night peered through like an upside-down ocean, bottomless and cold," (pg. 1). This was the very first page of the book, and the description was set in the right place for me. It set the stage for what Tally's life has been, and it also shows some of her personality through the way she described it. In the text, it says “Open fires dotted the valley, surrounded by small groups of people. The scents of wood smoke and cooking drifted up to Tally […] In addition to the smoke there was a morning mist in the air, a white finger creeping down into the valley from a bank of clouds nestled against the mountain higher up," (pg. 186). Tally has just arrived at the Smoke, and this is her first look at her new "home". This really helped me envision the Smoke, and it also helped me guess how she was feeling during that moment since it was so different from her old world. Added in here and there, action popped up in so many places to keep it exciting at the just right level. Westerfeld writes "Tally had to get to the river. The water was the only place safe from the rampaging fire. […] She descended the slope at full tilt. There were a few spots burning on this side, but nothing like the galloping flame behind her," (pg. 166). At this moment, Tally was hoping to have some good rest, but she wakes up in a field that is on fire. Obviously, this moment was very action packed as Tally is trying to outrun fire and save her own life. The text also says "She rolled off into space, the ground looming below. But Tally jerked to a halt, her arm wrenching in its socket, and she heard the Special's razor voice curse," (pg. 296). The people who sent Tally out to betray the Smokies (the Specials) have found the Smoke. Tally is on a roof trying to fight off a Special so that she can save her friends. The Special is so much stronger and bigger, and they are fighting on a roof which only added to the action of a fight. This book had many challenges that the characters had to face. In the text, it says "If she said another word, she'd have to tell Shay the truth," (pg. 217). At this point, Tally feels guilty. She has settled well into the Smoky lifestyle and has found many welcoming friends. But she can't forget her true purpose, and she doesn't know what she wants, to never betray her friends but never become pretty, or to betray her friends but become pretty. Westerfeld also writes "Shay's note read, 'At the second make the worst mistake.' Making a mistake shouldn't be that hard. But what was the worst mistake?" (pg. 152). Tally has been trying to figure out the clues Shay has left for her, which is already a challenge since they were written in a riddle. Her new challenge within the one already there is that she needs to cross a gorge, while she makes a bad mistake, while she also tries to keep herself alive. To wrap this up, I think this book is a total 5-star book. This book was a change from what I usually read, and I was surprised at how good it was. Tally really struggles through challenges, finds new friendships, endures the toughest risks, and goes through so many more exciting elements of a great book. Although this may be different from your usual tastes, like mine, it really was good and left you hanging at the end for more BOOK: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld An Outstanding and Innovative Epilogue To Many Favorite Fairy Tales Have you ever wondered maybe, what happened to Cinderella and her prince? Or, what happened to the Evil Queen in Snow White’s story after Snow White found her true love? Obviously, stories don’t just end with because someone said it’s happily ever after. This book is a must-read for all fairy tale lovers and it really manages to trap you. It was filled with heart-stopping moments, vivid descriptions, and admirable characters. In the Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer, we learn that even when feel like giving up in the hardest of times, we must persevere through the hard times. After falling through a magical story tale book, twins Alex and Conner are trapped inside the book with no way to return home but by using the Wishing Spell, a spell that grants any wish. But the spell can only be used once and collecting the items will be dangerous. Will they be able to do it? In the end we see that even if we feel like giving up, we must keep trying no matter how hard, dangerous or risky the situation is. This book was filled with thrilling, heart stopping moments that kept me hooked. In the text it says “Jack turned around and the Huntress stabbed him in the arm with her dagger,”(pg. 388). So far, with Jack being the good guy and mainly winning the fight, readers feel surprised at this pivoting moment in the fight, making readers think twice about who they think will win. Good guys or bad guys? The text also tells us that “The wolves were only a few feet away from pouncing on them… Conner pushed his sister and himself off of the cliff seconds before they would have been tackled by the wolves…The twins plummeted into the ocean,” (pg. 330). After being chased by wolves and hunted down by the Evil Queen, readers would expect by now that the twins would fight back. Instead, Conner and Alex have fallen off a cliff into the ocean. This really shows how the author manages to include a thrilling and suspenseful moment that twist the plot from what readers expect it to be. Included all throughout the book are many vivid descriptions that helped me see what it would be like inside a story tale land. Colfer writes “… around the top of the bubble was a gathering of mermaids. They were gorgeous and colorful. All of them were pale but had long hair the matched their tails in vibrant sea colors; there were blues and greens, purples and pinks,” (pg. 339). When Conner wakes up in the sea, he notices the mermaids. As he describes the mermaids, readers can really see how it would look in their mind's eye, as the author aids the sentence with words like vibrant and colorful, which makes the description stand out. The text also says “… the twins could make out the frightening faces of a goblin and a troll standing before them. The goblin was gangly and thin with big, yellow eyes and pea-green skin. The troll was fat and frumpy with a huge nose and horns. Both had big, pointy ears that stuck out on the sides of their heads,” (pg. 239). After reading this, readers can almost perfectly visualize what it would be like if they were Alex and Conner. The author describes the troll and goblin in an in-depth way, and this helps readers infer what may happen next depending on the frightening appearance of the goblin and troll. The book had all sorts of characters sprinkled into the story, and many of them had admirable traits. In the text, it says “’It looks like I have to work tomorrow night, so I won’t be here for your birthday…’ ‘That’s fine, Mom,’ Alex said cheerfully, trying to make her feel better,” (pg. 39). This moment really proves Alex as an admirable character. After going through a lot, like her father’s death, and her mom having to work a lot to keep the family going and not seeing the twins as often, she still stays positive. Most people would want to have their family there on their birthday, or some sort of celebration and Alex says that she and Conner will be fine with just a normal day for their birthday. Colfer also writes “ ‘One… two… three!’ Conner jumped off the tree branch and soared toward the wall,” (pg. 201). From this, readers can see that Conner is definitely brave, a characteristic that is commonly admired. Conner and Alex are debating about how to get over a wall, and while they are still debating, Conner decides to jump out of a tree without knowing if the landing could be safe or not. Overall, I think you should definitely read this book. Alex and Conner struggled through the Land of Stories, not even knowing what may ensue, but they took risks and persevered through in the hardest times. Even if you hate fairy tales, this a great book filled with adventure, magic, friendship, courage, thrilling moments and many more. This is a 5 star must-read book for adults and children of all ages. *BOOK: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer* |