Review: I Crawl Through It

I Crawl Through It by A.S. King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Being a teenager is hard enough, but for these four teenagers … life is crazy. Their lives are full of traumatic events, they are trying to deal with grief, every turn exposes a different standardized test and their parents mine as well not be around. In a plot to escape they build an invisible helicopter and take off with a plan to find a better place. Can you really escape the reality of your life? What is real and what is just in your head?

I Crawl Through It is a circular story that must be read slowly. The teenagers are narrating the story, but the reader must decide what is actually happening and what is only in their imagination. Readers who prefer a straight forward story should avoid this novel, yet those who are up for a literary challenge will enjoy the imagery and interwoven stories. If this is your first A.S. King novel, give it a try, but many of her other novels are much more enjoyable and should be looked for even if this wasn’t up your reading alley.


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Review: The Scorpion Rules

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

War has ravaged the world and the solution is an exchange of hostages. Every king, queen, president and other rulers must send one of their own children to a school called a Precepture. These Children of Peace stay until they are 18 years old or until their parent commits an act of war. At that time the hostage is sacrificed. Greta is the Crown Princess of the Pan-Polar Confederation and is secure in the fact her mother would never jeopardize her life. When Elián is brought to the Precepture in chains, the accepted practices of the school are shaken to the core. Are Greta and Elián’s two countries about to go to war?

The Scorpion Rules is a dystopian novel at its core with a lot of military strategy woven throughout. Most of the military strategy that is included does not add to the primary storyline. I found myself rolling my eyes when another tangent passed across the page. It is currently not listed as part of a series, but the ending gives a definite opening for a sequel or companion. If another book is introduced, I hope it has more about the characters and less about the state the world is in and the actions of world powers from the past. That will make a much more enjoyable read.


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Review: Nightfall

Nightfall by Jake Halpern
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sunset is approaching, yet once it comes the sunrise will wait fourteen years. The tide will go out and stay out during this time and the weather will dip into temperatures that make the land uninhabitable. The residents of the island have a plan, though. They leave the island during this time and travel to a desert land to await the sunrise. Line doesn’t want to leave until he retrieves a family heirloom of a friend that he had accidentally lost. Marin and Kana leave their family to look for Line and all three are left behind. Will they be able to find a way off the island? What dark secrets were the adults keeping from them?

Nightfall is a stand-alone novel that leaves many openings for a series to be created. Readers will uncover secrets either with the characters or right before. The action is continuous, but not completely engaging. I did find my mind wandering a few times and had to stop and re-read some sections. I will admit that might have just been me since it was the first two days of the school year.  We can only hope that Halpern decides to continue to write stories in this newly created world.


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Review: The Scam

The Scam by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Evan Trace has a good gig. He helps people launder their money through his casino in Macau. It is a much needed service for the dictators, mobsters and terrorists of the world. Of course Nick and Kate’s specialty is using Nick’s con man skills and Kate’s FBI training to take down these high rolling criminals. Their scam is to pose as gamblers and money launders in order to ensure terrorists don’t have the funds to plan their next attack. Since their tactics are not legal, they don’t have much in the back-up department. Can they pull off this scam without getting caught by the criminals or the FBI? Which lines will Kate be willing to cross in order to stop this operation?

The Scam is the fourth book in the Fox and O’Hare series. This story is able to be enjoyed by itself, but I encourage readers to start at the beginning of the series in order to enjoy the character development and relationship evolution. Nick is still extremely attracted to Kate and her resolve is slowly slipping away. Will this be the adventure that Nick gets his way? The Scam is another quick read with lots of action and intrigue. There are enough little adventures away from the primary storyline to spice up the reader’s imagination. Evanovich continues to give readers what they want with a strong female protagonist and exciting supporting characters.


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Review: The Suffering

The Suffering by Rin Chupeco
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Tark is now free from the spirit that tormented him and he has teamed up with Okiku to hunt down those who have murdered children. He knows he is skating on thin ice, but then Okiku decides to hunt down someone BEFORE they kill and Tark starts questioning if they are really on the side of justice. Okiku and Tark are forced to work through their issues when a friend disappears in a haunted Japanese forest and they set out to find out what happened.

The Suffering is the second book in The Girl from the Well series. I had not read the first book and after finishing this story I don’t think I will go looking for it. Chupeco spends most of the first half reviewing events from the first book and that was too much review. If readers make it to the second half, the story does flow much better. I’m not sure how many readers will wade through all the review, though. This is a supplemental read if you don’t have anything else available.


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Review: Hunter

Hunter by Mercedes Lackey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It has been hundreds of years since creatures from the Otherworld passed through the barrier and began killing entire populations. Humans have survived by living behind walls and sticking to inhospitable lands. Every once in a while a person develops lightning fast reflexes and is able to wield magic; they are recruited to become Hunters and they protect the rest of the population. Joy has been raised in a mountain village that has an abnormal number of Hunters. She is told she must venture to the capital city to become an official Hunter. She soon discovers that everything she knew about Hunters was wrong. Her success is judged according to her standings on reality TV and the population is kept in the dark about how real the threat is. Joy must question the motives of everyone around her and determine her best course of action.

Hunter is the first book in a new series by the same title. This is an action packed adventure, but the time spent discussing fashion and accessories seemed unnecessary. When the reality TV aspect of the story was unveiled I was worried it was another Hunger Games-esque novel, but Lackey was able to develop a world all her own with a storyline that is captivating and challenging. Since this is a series there are a lot of ways this story can continue and although there is no real cliffhanger, readers will be actively looking for the next book to be released.


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