The Darkest Minds// Book Review!

What's happening Rad Readers!

I have to say, I wasn't totally invested in this book for the first couple hundred pages, but when things started picking up I was absolutely and totally hooked! A good quarantine read as well because... ya know... plagues and such are featured. As I have said before it is oh so concerning when dystopias are far too seeming like the reality we live in (and that's on 'The Handmaid's Tale').

When Ruby turned 10, though she had survived the plague that had killed all of her friends, she was taken away to a brutal government rehabilitation center and she had absolutely no idea why. It turns out that though the plague didn't kill her, it triggered something in her brain that was "dangerous." Something about her changed. Six years later Ruby is still in that center surrounded by other survivors, like her, all with strange and frightening abilities they cannot control. Ruby has kept hers hidden, but she knows the truth is about to come out. She escapes and is on the run, finding a band of other escapees on her journey. They are looking for East River, a notorious safe house for kids like her that have gotten out. Ruby is hesitant to follow this group, or even search for East River because with her abilities totally out of her control she is a danger to nearly everyone she is around. In a fight between the government and herself Ruby is forced to make a terrible choice, one that could mean giving up her chance at surviving any life worth living.

The story concept is completely unique. I have not read anything like this really, but I'd say the closest comparison could be like a better version of 'The Maze Runner.' The characters are absolutely lovable and so wonderfully developed, the relationships between them all are developed fantastically as well. They are so vivid, as is the world that Alexandra Bracken has built.

Well, like I said, it takes a while for this story to get going, but when it does you don't want it to ever end. I can't say much without spoiling it, but I would say that it is definitely worth the read. It is nothing super special, but it is definitely great! I gave it 4/5 stars on GoodReads!

SPOILERS AHOE!

Ruby... bothersome at first. That is primarily what took away one star from my review. The other problem I had was the fact that a lot of the beginning --after the world was all established and the escape happened-- was essentially a moderately intense road trip. Obviously that came and went and when they FINALLY found East River THINGS. GOT. CRAZY!

Anyways, back to Ruby, I just hate weak and whiney main characters with a self righteous "I'm a danger to everyone" vibe. Like dude, people are trying to help you and they wouldn't if they didn't want to. It's not that hard to just say thanks and accept help when you are a fugitive and on the brink of death... and so are they... Ruby did have some great character development though. She was certainly less weak and less of a push over as the story went on. In the beginning she couldn't stand up for herself at all and it was genuinely painful to read because I personally just hate characters like that. She's still a little too needs-to-be-the-hero and everything-is-my-fault for my liking, but hey, what can ya do? I hated how she criticized Liam for being like that, but I was like girl... practice what you preach, take a look in the mirror.

I loved Chubs, he was my favorite character in this story, easily. He was right to be weary of everything and even though he kind of sounded like a jerk while doing it, he was totally right. I liked how we got to see him and Ruby become friends, because even in Ruby's case, it was fair to be skeptical of a girl that you found in the middle of the woods, and then in your car, running from the government. He was also a great comic relief and the only one with common sense in the gang.

I liked the uniqueness of the story. No vampires or werewolves... well, so far. I don't want to speak too soon. I have been wronged by too many of these YA series in my lifetime to believe that we are well and truly safe... Anyways, I liked how all the concepts were new. Their powers that were being introduced, and the idea of greens and yellows and oranges being different levels of power and ability was a very interesting and completely original idea to center a story around, and I have a great deal of respect for that!

CLANCY! UGHHHHHHH!!!!!! GAHHHHHHH!!!!!! I have never hated an antagonist more than I have hated Clancy. I would rather face Voldemort than Clancy. He is just so creepy. Even before we were absolutely positive that he was a bad guy... Rad Readers... I just knewwww he was wack. Major props to the author for writing him in such an eerie and off way, because I just had such a strong picture of him in my mind, and I hated that picture.

I hated how smart Clancy was and how stupid Ruby was being in comparison. She had a bad gut feeling and then she was like "there's a voice in the back of my head telling me to trust him." YA, DOG! THAT'S HIS VOICE! ARE YOU FORGETTING HE CAN CONTROL PEOPLE'S MINDS!? Ruby was an absolute moron to let him in her mind. I know he was acting like a good guy at first, but she said that she had weird vibes about him, and I don't even care if you have good vibes about someone. If you have known them for less than, what? 3 days? Here's a general rule to follow, don't let them use their powers to sift through and manipulate your mind! Incase you ever need that type of advice in the future, here it is! If you meet someone with a dangerous amount of power that somehow has the love and backing of an entire population, and this person also just so happens to have the ability of... ya know, just mind control... probably a red flag.

I must say, the ending had me in pieces. The stupid stupid stupid letter. My mind was blown. I can't believe they never thought to look inside. This was genuinely never expected. When I read the part where the dad came out and shot Chubs, I just sat back and had to take a breather because I needed time to comprehend what madness was happening. To say I was hurt would be an understatement. If Chubs is dead then I will never be okay again. That is no exaggeration. You cannot just kill off my favorite character in the FIRST BOOK! I can't believe she just ended it like that without telling us what happened to Chubs... so rude, so wrong.

Ruby pressing the panic button? In my opinion, not the right decision. Chubs was shot in the chest and even though I hope with all my heart that he isn't dead, the likely hood of survival was slim to none, and even if he did live, at what cost? He would become what he was trying to get away from all over again, except instead of with the government it would be with the League, and honestly, I'm not sure which is worse. They all would be stuck. Probably not the right move on Ruby's part.

That isn't even the half of it though, when it comes to the ending. Liam...

HOW COULD SHE DO THIS TO US! HOW! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW!?

When Ruby erased Liam's mind I was like... It is truly over for us now. She hit us with the "I'm going to finish the story," line, and ladies and gentlemen, that just about ruined me. She is about to just be a pawn in someone else's game. She is the martyr and it's probably going to be for no reason in the end because Chubs is gone, she is gone, and if Liam doesn't have his friends, he made it pretty clear in the beginning, that he would have trouble finding a reason to keep fighting the power. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!!!!!! UGHHHH AHHHH!! I'M NERVOUS!

It was just so crazy to me how they were always able to get themselves out of these massive battles and escape the most insane circumstances, but it was the little mistakes that came back and ruined them. That is what made it such a great and crazy story, in my opinion. You thought you knew what was going to happen next, and the BAM.

Okay, Rad Readers... that is all. I have no predictions going into the next book because everything that I though I knew was shattered in the last 15 pages.

I'm nervous,

- C8 ;)

P.S. I just remembered that Clancy isn't dead... oh no...

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: 50000/5 Stars!!// Book Review

Hello Rad Readers!

This is genuinely the best book ever. Easily one of my favorites of all time (tied with Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo). I loved it so much; everything about it was great. It is the most adorable, well written, fun, and funny story in all of the universe. Why am I starting to love contemporaries all of a sudden!?!?

If you don't know what Fangirl is about... We follow our main character Cath who is going to the same college as her twin sister Ren. They have been extremely close all their lives, so when Ren tells Cath that she wants her own, separate life in college, it comes as a major shock. Cath is far more reserved than Ren is and is left to figure out who she is going to be when she isn't with her sister. She is really shy so she has a tough time fitting in. Her major outlet is through literature and writing. Her problem is that she gets lost in stories that aren't her own. She lives her life vicariously through her writing and the books that have already been written rather than living a story for herself. We get to see where her talents and passions take her, and watch how through this she is able to make her way out of her shell.

Cath is the greatest character of all time. Levi is a close second, and Reagan is a close third. I related to Cath so so so much it was nuts. If you are a book lover, (or a Rad Reader ;)) then you will love Cath as well. She is just like us! I thought it was very funny that Cath is made to be this extreme version of a fan for this series, and how there is such an emphasis on how there are posters from books all over her walls and she wears bookish t-shirts all the time. I was reading this and I was like... wow, someone basically wrote a book about me hahaha! 100% of my socks are Harry Potter themed, 90% of my jewelry is bookish themed, I have a miniature Harry Potter dangling in my car, and I bring a book with me everywhere I go, because JUST IN CASE! I am literally Cath.

The way this book was written is absolutely incredible and positively genius. The characters are so vivid and so real, and for a stand alone novel it never felt rushed, or too dragged on, or too focused on irrelevant details. I make that praise because with so many stand alone's that I read, I --no joke-- get anxious because there is so little time for an entire story to happen and when... like... 30 pages are centered around something entirely irrelevant or boring or unimportant... ahhh! BLOOD BOILING! But anyways, that wasn't a problem in Fangirl. There was never a part where I was skimming or half in the story. When I was reading it, it was all in, all the time. It was painful to put it down, so I didn't! Ah, the beauties of quarantine!

I absolutely was not expecting to like this as much as I did. I've said this before, but in the past I have always found contemporaries a bit boring. Something about reading about a life with bounds the same as mine, where there are no fire breathing dragons or people with super powers has always seemed capital L-- LAME! to me, but Rainbow Rowell is such a talented writer and I think that there is something great about contemporaries after all. The comedy is grade A, golden, A1, perfection, gnarly, radical, and all the other synonyms. Along with the comedy however, it is a coming of age novel and with that comes some very relatable and very real story points. All the characters had such strong and honest voices, and for me personally, the story was felt very deeply very easily.

I highly recommend you read this book! Pick it up! Check it out! You will love it!

-C8 ;)

'Crescendo' Thoughhhh... Am I Right?// Book Talk

HELLOOOOO Rad Readers!!

First off, I would like to apologize for the title... I just could not help myself. It rhymed, what can I say!

Secondly, I loved this book. I know I said this in my review of 'Hush, Hush,' (Crescendo is the second out of the four books in the Hush, Hush series) but I just get such strong Mara Dyer vibes from these books. I don't know if it's the spooky, eerie, thriller vibe, or just similar characters (Patch=Noah... don't @ me) and writing, but I just loved everything about it. 'The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer' was my favorite book until I read 'Six of Crows,' so saying that it reminds me of one of my favorite books is REALLYYYY saying something!

(Also, totally unimportant but the cover of this book was gnarly.)

SPOILERS COMING AT YOU!

Okay! Lettuce begin... haha... get it... like let us, but I said lettuce... Anyways, I really enjoyed the shifting dynamic with Nora and Patch. They were just really not homies for a second there and I think that this was an interesting take. So many stories just act like things are all good, uninterrupted, all the time. It makes it unrealistic and unbelievable and thus harder to connect with as the reader. Certainly not a problem in 'Crescendo.' I even found that to be a problem in the 'Mara Dyer' series. Mara just trusted Noah in everything which was an iffy vibe to follow, but there is still a part of Nora that is skeptical, and rightfully so considering the fact that Patch's initial intent was to murder her. Then buddy pulled through and didn't murder her. Major dub, happily ever after... Or so we thought. When the book started off with Patch acting so wack I was like "Dude, what is your deal." I didn't know what was going on, you didn't know what was going on, Nora didn't know what was going on. It was madness. He was acting like and irrational, untrustworthy, unnecessarily secretive, jerk. There were so many many many secrets going on in this book which was so frustrating because why do characters always think it is easier to defeat the big bad wolf when they are the only ones that know about it. Like hellooooo? Team work makes the dream work. Heard of it? First he doesn't care, then he cares too much, then he lies to Nora (which I was also personally hurt by), then he BETRAYS Nora (which I was then just angered by), then he is trying to get her to go back to before she knew about this entire world which is just absolutely impossible and stupid and insane. You don't just let go having the knowledge about an entirely supernatural secret society. I was teaming with rage at this man for the majority of the time. But obviously that was the goal of the author, so bravo, I am frustrated. I was 80% sure that Becca Fitzpatrick was trying to get everyone who read these books to hate Patch. The other 20% of me was mentally screaming at Nora.

Nora is the type of girl that runs up the stairs instead of out the door in a horror movie.

Nora is the type of girl that doesn't make sure the bad guy is dead.

Nora is the type of girl that suggests you all split up.

She is the one that can't start the car, the one that keeps on tripping when she is running away from the killer. She is the one with bad cellphone reception so she can't call 911. She will go into the creepy basement with no weapons and a weak flashlight. She is the one that drops the keys. She is the one that wants to go investigate in the dark.

Nora is absolutely, totally, and completely frustrating with her mindlessness when it comes to important decision making, and with her willingness and stupidity to walk into so so so obviously horrible and dangerous situations. It is almost hilarious. I get it that she is like this for the sake of continuing the plot, making things interesting and action-y but for god sakes it is so annoying when she is like "Yes, this is a very bad idea and I know that I could absolutely die if I do this, so I will not do it." THENNNNN it's like she just had amnesia about that moment of intelligence and at the first plea that she do something dumb, she does exactly that dumb thing. Nora, dawg, you are a mortal. When these immortal people are telling you not to do these stupid stupid things that you are doing it's not because they think you suck and you are lame, it's because THAY CANNOT DIE butttt YOU CANNNN! Obviously though, I think this is fairly realistic of a teenage girl. Adds to the thriller vibes as well. It's like I'm reading a horror movie! I personally would not want to be left out of the excitement even if I were a mortal. It was nice to see her stand up for herself finally, though. With Marcie and Patch. I was proud of her when she told them what was up and when she punched Marcie. She had it coming. Nora just has a way of doing it that is undeniably the worst option all the time. It is luck and luck alone that she didn't die in the first 20 pages of the first book. Period. In conclusion. Nora, dude, chill. Alright?

Side characters? Nicely done. Marcie? I loathe her. Scott? Bad guy? Good guy? Ahhh I don't know. I think I like him. He brings some humor, and I like that he calls Nora out on her wackness. Someone needs to. Vee? I like her an Nora's friendship. It is nice that Nora has someone else she trusts besides just Patch. I do think she is a little annoying at some times though. Okay, a lot of times. Nora's mother? NOT. A. FAN. Homie's got a lot of explaining to do...

Finally, for whatever reason --and I have said this about this series before-- everyone besides me seems to hate this book series. Thus, I must give my obligatory defense of it as I do in these circumstances... *Clears throat* IT'S FUN OKAY! I know, I know, I know, it's cheesy sometimes, the opposite of intellectually challenging, a little clichéd, and about as deep as a kiddy pool. However, it is also exciting and fast paced. The characters are interesting. The writing is consistent, and spooky, and the story is good! The goal of the book is to tell an interesting story with interesting characters. I think that goal was accomplished. If you are reading these types of books-- this kind of genre-- thinking you are going to walk away with a new philosophy on life, or you are going to get some profound metaphors and color symbolism like in The Great Gatsby, then you sir, are the problem. Build a bridge and get over it. Let the rest of us enjoy the fun! Learn to live a little. I read to be entertained and in my opinion this is entertaining! I read enough profoundly lame, symbolic, and boring books in school to balance it out anyways.

Once I started reading this book I was immediately hooked. It was for sure a page turner and just when I thought the action was starting to calm down it picked right back up again, thus absolutely prohibiting me from putting it down until I finished it. I honestly couldn't tell if it was a quick read or I was just reading it at the speed of light because I liked the story so much?

What a cliff hanger we were left on btw... 5/5 stars from me on GoodReads!

- C8 ;)

P.S. I just had a super hot take. This is like 'Fallen' by Lauren Kate, but done right!