Review: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Alice in Zombieland
White Rabbit Chronicles #1

Author: Gena Showalter

Publication Date: September 12, 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Genre: Young Adult/Horror

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Synopsis:

She won't rest until she's sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

If anyone had told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that's all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real.

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn't careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies.

My Thoughts: I actually liked this book a lot more than I thought I would.  Normally, I hate anything to do with zombies.  I feel like they are overdone and, quite frankly, disturbing.  So, I was pleasantly surprised when I found this new take on zombie-kind.

Now, be forewarned, this is no where near a clear adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, if that is what you are looking for.  There are definitely throw-backs to the books and Easter-Eggs if you know the original series, but this is definitely it's own story with it's own plot.

Regardless, I really enjoyed this book.  Ali (or Alice) really surprised me a lot with her fortitude.  She was very reminiscent in a way of the Alice from Alice in Wonderland in that she sucked it up and didn't let people intimidate her or push her around.

I feel like the climax in this book may have been rushed a little and could have maybe been drawn out a bit more.  However, considering the fact that it is a multi-book series I am not surprised by the way it all went down.  I feel it has most likely set up for a more dramatic climax in other novels when we deal with the big bads of the series again.

I really enjoyed reading this book.  It was one of the ones that once I picked up I could hardly put down for anything.  I am typing this review up with the second book sitting next to me, begging me to crack it open and devour it.  I would totally recommend this one to any YA reader, especially the paranormal-loving ones - even if you hate zombies!

Review: Darkest Light by Hiromoi Goto

Darkest Light

Author: Hiromi Goto

Publication Date: January 31st, 2012

Publisher: Razorbill

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Horror

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Synopsis:

Adopted as an infant, Gee has been kept ignorant of his troubled past. Now, at sixteen, he is a loner both despised and feared by his classmates. Dark feelings slowly grow inside him, but as he struggles to control them, his past catches up with him. Abandoning his adoptive grandmother and the place he has called home, Gee is compelled to travel to Half World, one of the Three Realms all living things must pass through. Fractured at one time, the Realms of the Flesh, Spirit and Half World have been reunited, but they are at risk: their fate rests on Gee's own journey of self-discovery. With two unlikely companions, a heartless cat and a self-destructive Neo Goth girl, Gee must fight the monstrous and the horrific and, most difficult of all, he must overcome his own propensity for evil.

My Thoughts: The struggle to keep the balance between the three realms continues in this sequel to Half World. For which you can find my review here. This time though we see little to none of Melanie. She is out of the picture pretty much and instead, this time around we are following Baby G.

Only, Baby G isn't a baby anymore, he's a teenage boy. Gee knows there is some dark mystery behind where he came from, but has not even the slightest clue just how dark it is. His "Popo" or pseudo grandmother has raised him and taken care of him and has kept many deep and dark secrets. But the secrets are forced out when beings from the Half World enter the Flesh World to reclaim him and bring him back home. That's when Gee realizes that nothing is as it seems. And there are reasons he has always felt like an outsider and never fit in or ever had any friends. Gee has a past that downright terrifies him, but he has no choice to but to face it head on if things are to be set right and the balance between the three realms restored.

I enjoyed following Gee much more so than I did Melanie. He had a lot more character depth. He was a lot more cynical, brave and forthright. Where as at times I found Melanie to be whiny and a little too childish. The evil and shadows that Gee has to conquer are astounding, and the strength required to  get through is almost unattainable. He luckily managed to make a friend just before his epic journey into the Half World began. But at times she is more than a burden than an aid. But I loved her as well. She was not afraid to kick some serious butt and to tell it like she sees it. She was very independent and courageous. Together they made quite a pair, ravaging there way through the Half World.

The visuals in this story are so vivid and bright. Even though Half World itself is supposed to be all grey tones, the imagery still shines through and  I think I would do some pretty terrible things to see this made into a graphic novel. There are a few random illustrations throughout, but they never pick the really gory and scary things that I wanted to see. They were easy enough to imagine in my own mind, enough to give me shivers and goosebumps.

I would recommend this story to any and all fantasy fans, or fans of Asian culture or Asian style story telling. But if you have never given that kind of thing a try, I think this series is an excellent place to start! But I will warn you in advance, this book is not afraid to get disgusting, evil and twisted. But it also creates hope and light among this dark moments. It's a fantastic, adventurous, terrifying read and I definitely think you should give it a try!

Review: Half World by Hiromi Goto

Half World

Author: Hiromi Goto

Publication Date: January 30th, 2009

Publisher: Puffin Canada

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Horror

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Synopsis:

Melanie Tamaki is human—but her parents aren’t. They are from Half World, a Limbo between our world and the afterlife, and her father is still there. When her mother disappears, Melanie must follow her to Half World—and neither of them may return alive.

My Thoughts:  This book has sat on my shelf unread for far too long! I've been wanting to read this series for the longest time and I'm so glad I finally pulled it off the shelf and cracked it open. My high expectations were not let down.

If you are into the manga or Asian cultural scene at all then you definitely have to give this book a whirl. This was such a fantastic story filled with crazy extraordinary, literally out of this world adventure. It was dazzling and dark. It was eerie and breath taking. It was an epic struggle of evil and purity and more proof that sometimes even the smallest most seemingly insignificant people can completely change the course of the world and save our lives as we know them.

Half World is the story of 3 connected realms that have been knocked out of sequence. Every thing and every one has been doomed to remain in their realms eternally instead of passing on. But owing to the bravery of a few amazing characters all that is about to change.

I adored the character depictions, and the visuals this story held. I could envision all of it and it was all so deliciously creepy, dripping and oozing with creativity, with bursts of unexpected beauty and wonder. Melanie is a heroine we can all root for! She is just an average young girl faced with saving the world and re-connecting the realms. She's admittedly terrified and just barely stumbles her way through and because of that it was so easy to relate to her.

This book would be an enjoyable read for girls and boys of all ages! I even read some of it to my 4 year old daughter and she sat there and loved it :D. I am so glad I already own the sequel because I can't wait to see what happens next!

Review: The Last Vampire by Christopher Pike

The Last Vampire

Author: Christopher Pike

Publication Date: October 16th, 2003

Publisher: Hodder Childrens

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Paranormal/Horror

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Synopsis:

Sita is five thousand years old and believes she is the last vampire. When someone begins hunting her, she thinks it is the client of a detective she killed. She enrolls in high school and befriends the detective’s son, and later falls in love with him. Meanwhile, Sita’s creator Yaksha has been following her, believing he must kill her to atone for his sins. Sita thought she had killed him years before.

My Thoughts: This book was really short so there isn't a whole lot I can say about it. But even though it was so short I really enjoyed it and I am definitely looking forward to reading more of the series!

I definitely liked Pike's take on Vampires! He makes them real, scary, terrifying, unbelievably powerful, and beautiful. Pretty much all the things a vampire should be. Not that there are plenty of them to go around in this story because Sita is supposedly the last one left! She has been around from the very beginning and now believes she is the only one of her kind that still survives. She's managed to live under the radar for many centuries, but suddenly someone is on to her, getting into her business and asking the wrong questions. Sita does not react well to this type of thing.

Her lust for violence and efficiency in slaughter was a beautiful thing. She's ruthless and calculating and definitely knows how to take care of herself. It's no wonder she has survived as long as she has. I was a little annoyed at times by her conceitedness, but it's not too bad and I guess if I was as stunning and powerful as her I might be a little full of myself too hah.

Another thing I really liked about this book was the inventive back story it gave us about the creation of all vampires and Sita's role during the event. I thought that was a really fantastic touch to the story. It really helps the reader immerse themselves in the world and make everything feel more realistic when we get the whole story. It was also really unique and not like any I'd heard before so points for that too.  It was short but Pike managed to pack a lot in there without it being to overwhelming and just enough to make you want to read more.

Although it was a tad predictive and Sita has a somewhat confusing personality, I still thought this book was pretty good and I will definitely continue into the series to see what becomes of her and her kind. And yes I would recommend this book to others. Especially those of the vampire loving kind, I think you'll enjoy Pike's creative creation story.

Review: The Grave Artist by Paula Lynn Johnson

The Grave Artist

Author: Paula Lynn Johnson

Publication Date: March 12th, 2012

Publisher: Self-Published

Genre: YA/Paranormal/Horror

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Synopsis:

16-year-old Clare can't stop drawing the bizarre, winged skulls she calls "Sammies". Her psychiatrist assumes the compulsive drawings are just expressions of Clare's grief over her father abandoning her. But then Clare discovers that her Sammies are exact matches for the Death's Head on the grave of Samantha Forsythe, a teen who reportedly fell to her death over two centuries ago. Before long, Clare's drawings morph into cryptic writings that urge her to uncover the truth behind Samantha's death. Together with Neil -- the friend she might be falling for -- Clare scours the local history for clues. She finds that, although Samantha was engaged to a wealthy landowner, there were whispered rumors of her involvement with a younger, biracial man. Soon, Clare is haunted by disturbing dream images -- a mysterious eye, a broken chain -- that point to someone Samantha called her "Dearest". But who is Dearest? And why does Samantha need Clare to find him so badly? Isolated and carrying hidden scars of her own, Clare fears her obsession with Samantha will threaten her sanity and safety. But it seems she has no choice in the matter . . .

My Thoughts: I picked this e-book for free a little while ago, and I've been reading it on my phone whenever I had down time, like waiting rooms or such. It was really a pretty great read and I'm quite surprised that it was free!

It's also a fairly quick, light, and easy read.  There really isn't too many characters to follow, the plot flows quite nicely with fantastic helpings of mystery and healthy splashes of the dark and unknown. I would agree that it could be placed in the horror genre,  but it's not a scare the pants off you kind of read. It treads the line between eerie and terrifying quite nicely without keeping us awake at night.

Clare's life has just made some drastic changes. She used to be a spoiled, wealthy girl, getting whatever she wanted and without a care in the world. But when Daddy, the bread winner, finds someone younger and newer than her mother all of that goes away pretty quickly. It would be an understatement to say that Clare didn't handle the changes well. On top of her trying to cope with her new less privileged life, things start getting pretty creepy when she starts drawing these skeleton heads compulsively. She literally has no control over it. When she tries to explore what is going on with her, she finds that the rabbit hole is much deeper than she anticipated. She soon finds herself within a love torn murder mystery with no way out.

I was quite surprised with the ending, it took a twist I did not for see in the slightest and I just love it when a book is capable of shocking me like that. It was overall quite intriguing, but not to the point where I would think about it even when I  wasn't reading it and couldn't wait to pick it back up. But at the same time, I was enjoying myself, and the story while I was reading it.  I was a little hot and cold with Clare. Her reactions and behavior towards what was happening in her real life and her family were at times childish and blown out of proportions. As well, I found she could be really spiteful and mean towards her mom and sister who were going through the exact same things she was. But outside of the family issues I really liked her. I liked the her that came out when she was searching for answers and facing her fears. In those moments she had a determination and compassion that was admirable.

Overall, it was quite a decent read. Quick and easy, and I would most likely recommend it. Especially to those who like a little history with dashes of mystery and ghosts.

Waiting on Wednesday (35)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly awaiting.

Red Rain by R.L Stine

Expected Publication: October 9th, 2012

Synopsis: Before there was J.K. Rowling, before there was Stephenie Meyer or Suzanne Collins, there was R.L. Stine. Witty, creepy, and compulsively readable, he defined horror for a generation of young readers—readers who have now come of age. 

Travel writer Lea Sutter finds herself on a small island off the coast of South Carolina, the wrong place at the wrong time. A merciless, unanticipated hurricane cuts a path of destruction and Lea barely escapes with her life. In the storm’s aftermath, she discovers orphaned twin boys and impulsively decides to adopt them. The boys, Samuel and Daniel, seem amiable and immensely grateful; Lea’s family back on Long Island—husband Mark and their two children, Ira and Elena—aren’t quite so pleased. But even they can’t anticipate the twins’ true nature—or predict that, within a few weeks’ time, Mark will wind up implicated in two brutal murders, with the police narrowing in.

I am beyond excited for this book! I am one of the kids that grew up reading every goosebumps book I could get my hands on. I remember getting the scholastic book orders from school and circling the goosebumps books and showing my mom and begging her to buy them for me haha. How amazing is it that those of us who enjoyed his stories so much as kids, now get to enjoy his work again as adults?! I am so ready to be scared out of my pants! Bring it R.L Stine!!! I can't wait! Luckily, it'll be here soon!!

What are you waiting on?

Teaser Tuesday (23)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by  MizB at Should be Reading.

To Participate you:

-Grab your current read

-Open to a random page

-Share two 'teaser' sentences from somewhere on that page

-BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS

-Share the Title and Author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR if the like your  teaser :)

This week's teaser comes from:

Lost in the Bayou by Cornelle DeVille

"As twilight fades, and inky veil of darkness descends and paints everything in it's shadowy evening attire. That's when the night creatures slither out of their hiding places. Watching. Waiting. Their razor-sharp teeth and long, thick claws ready to rip you open in a heartbeat and devour you within a few minutes."

This quote is actually from the very front of the book. I have just started it and  I am excited already! I love a good creepy read and this sounds promising :).

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What are you teasing this week?

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