Book 28 of 2011 Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Synopsis:

Tally is back in the City and the operation is complete, she is finally Pretty. She's becoming a member of the Crims gang, she has the perfect boyfriend and everyone wants to be like her. But, she isn't as happy as she thought she would be. She has a sense that something is not right. Then at a party a message from her Ugly/Smoke past arrives with a note that she wrote to herself. She and Zane her perfectly beautiful boyfriend embark on a quest to find the 'New Smoke' and regain their memories of the past.


Two stars equals an okay book. While it didn't blow me away, it wasn't terrible either. The story seemed to get a little tired. It was basically just a rehash of Pretties with a new boy. I expected more and that's probably not fair. This is after all, a YA book and should not be judged on the same basis as a book written for adults. I'll still finish the trilogy with Specials on my hold list at the library, but I'm certainly not excited about this one.


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Update...A to Z Reading Challenge

've decided to do an A to Z reading challenge this year. Read a book for each letter of the alphabet. Should be pretty easy. Titles that begin with articles (A, an, the) won't count, I'll skip to the next word in the title. It should be interesting and fun.

A
B
C        The Cracker Queen  by Lauretta Hannon
D        Devil Bones  by Kathy Reichs
E
F         Flesh and Bone  by Jefferson Bass
G        The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo  by Steig Larsson
H        The Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins
I          I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman
J
K
L        Lucia, Lucia  by Adrianna Trigiana
M      Murder List  by Julie Garwood
N
O
P
Q
R         Room  by Emma Donoghue
S
T         Total Recall   by Sara Paretsky
U
V
W        Wild Fire  by Nelson DeMille
X
Y
Z

Book 7 - 2011 Devil Bones

Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was not my favorite book in this series. I just don't get excited about devil worship, voodoo and the like. I think it's overdone. I'm also ready for the relationship with Ryan to be resolved. I'm sure I'll read the next one,(since I already own it) but I won't rush out to buy any more of these books.



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The Hunger Games -- Book 6 2011

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is really not the kind of book I usually read, but I loved it. I can't wait to get to the library tomorrow and hope the next in the trilogy is available. If all science fiction was this good, I'd be a convert. In a place that was once known as North America is a Capitol and 12 Districts. Each year a girl and a boy are picked to compete to the death in the hunger games. The victor is set for life, but how do you live with what you have to do to win. I need to know the rest of Katness and Peeta's story.



View all my reviews

A to Z Reading Challenge

I've decided to do an A to Z reading challenge this year. Read a book for each letter of the alphabet. Should be pretty easy. Titles that begin with articles (A, an, the) won't count, I'll skip to the next word in the title. It should be interesting and fun.

A
B
C        The Cracker Queen
D        Devil Bones
E
F
G        The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
H        The Hunger Games
I
J
K
L        Lucia, Lucia
M      Murder List
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T         Total Recall    
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

17 --In the Blood

Author: Don Donaldson
finished: 03/21/09
synopsis:

A survivor of leukemia, Dr. Holly Fisher is ready to resume her life. Her first step: to have a child using eggs that were saved before she underwent the fertility-killing cancer treatment. But to her horror, Holly learns that her eggs have been stolen from the fertility clinic, taken by a man posing as her lawyer and armed with her death certificate.

Angry, hurt, and bewildered, Holly vows to track down the person who stole her most precious dream—never realizing that her attempts to make sense out of a mysterious theft will land her in the middle of a scientific and medical nightmare. An ethical horror that will put her and countless others in the path of a man willing to destroy the laws of nature—and anyone who opposes him...

My thoughts: Not one of my favorites. This one was a little bit too predictable and didn't hold my attention.

1 star

Challenges update

I've decided to join the Read your Name Challenge using my full name
Michelle.

M -- Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (reading)
In the Blood by Don J. Donaldson
Crosscut by Meg Gardiner
H --
Echo Park by Michael Connelly
Last Kiss Goodbye by Rita Herron
Left to Die by Taylor Kincaid
Envy by Sandra Brown

I'll also join the What's in a name-2 Challenge.

"Time of day" Day of the Dead by J. A. Jance

"Relative"

"Profession" The Paperboy by Pete Dexter

"Building" Sleeping at the Starlite Motel by Baily White

"Medical Condition" Left to Die by Taylor Kincaid

"Body Part" The Skin Gods by Robert Montanari

15 -- Day of the Dead

Author: J.A. Jance
Finished: 03/12/09
Synopsis: Young girls are being spirited away from an orphanage deep in Colonial Mexico -- told they're traveling to a loving adoptive family in southern Arizona, their hopes are high. But the fate that waits for them is truly horrifying: when death comes, it will be a blessing....

Former Sheriff Brandon Walker is living the life of a reluctant retiree. Playing golf while his wife, Diana Ladd, continues to write her bestselling tales of true crime, he desperately misses the action and sense of usefulness from days gone by. When he's invited to join the Last Chance Club to review and attempt to solve long-cold cases, he little imagines the first case to cross his path will be one he may have botched back when he was sheriff. And when the case from all those decades past becomes entangled with a current murder, it seems a serial killer with a very long and shocking track record may be back in business....

My thoughts: This was the first book I've read by this author. I'm not sure if it was part of a series, but if it was I don't think it really mattered. I enjoyed the story, the characters and the setting. I think I'll probably read more of this author.

4 stars

12 -- Left to Die

Author: Taylor Kincaid
Finished: 2/22/09
My thoughts: This was pretty good. A mystery/thriller set in San Diego featuring a couple of Private Investigators Jenna Capshaw and Ian McSwain. I don't know if there are other books featuring this duo, but would like to learn more about their personal stories. One a recovering alcoholic, the other with a wife in prison on a drug charge. This has nothing to do with the case that they solve in this book, but was an interesting back story. Late one night a single mom accepts a ride home in the parking lot of a bar. After a stop at a gas station a man comes out of the backseat to force them to a desolate spot on a lonesome road. One woman watches as the other is raped. One woman escapes, but is haunted by the lady that she left behind. Our PI's are hired to find out if the good samaritan was left to die, or if she too escaped. With a few twists and turns, the ending was a surprise to me.

3.5 stars

11-- The Paperboys

Author: Pete Dexter
Finished: 02/17/2009
My thoughts: This book wasn't as good as Paris Trout. Nothing good happened in the book, only depressing, awful things. I can't say that I enjoyed it, but I am glad that I read it.

3 Stars

8 -- Crosscut

Author: Meg Gardiner
Finished: 02/04/09
My thoughts: This was sick shit for sure and I enjoyed it immensely. Although this was the fourth book in the series and I haven't read the others I enjoyed the story and the twists and turns it took. If you like sick shit, this one should go on your list.

4 1/2 stars

7 -- Sleeping at the Starlite Motel

Author: Bailey White
Finished: 02/01/2009
My Thoughts: This collection of short stories about family and Southern characters. I enjoyed most of the stories especially Garden of Eden which brings us the theory that the Garden of Eden of the Bible is actually on the Florida panhandle. I also really enjoyed The Retired Russian Colonel. An easy, entertaining collection.

3 1/2 stars

6 -- Echo Park

Author: Michael Connelly
Date finished: 01/31/2009
My thoughts: I love Connelly's Harry Bosch novels and this one didn't disappoint. A case from 1993 that Bosch never solved comes back into play when a serial killer takes credit for the murder. Harry is called in to take the killer's confession and learns that a clue he and his partner might have missed could have prevented the subsequent murders. Connelly creates suspense right up to the final conclusion. Just the right amount of romance (a teeny tiny bit) thrown in for good measure.

5 Stars

5 - Last Kiss Goodbye

Author: Rita Heron
Finished: 01/27/09
My thoughts: This book is a Harlequin Romance and as such was okay. I wanted to read it because it was set in Appalachia. It is what it is.



2 Stars

Challenges

I've decided to join the Read your Name Challenge using my full name
Michelle.

M --
I --
Crosscut by Meg Gardiner
H --
Echo Park by Michael Connelly
Last Kiss Goodbye by Rita Herron
L --
E --

I'll also join the What's in a name-2 Challenge.

"Time of day"

"Relative"

"Profession"

"Building" Sleeping at the Starlite Motel by Baily White

"Medical Condition"

"Body Part" The Skin Gods by Robert Montanari

Now to decide on books to read to help me complete these challenges.
Check back for updates!