Bar Code Tattoo Trilogy

Hey all! This next review is on the Bar Code Tattoo trilogy by Suzanne Weyn. I thought this series was okay. It's another dystopian novel set in the year 2025. I finished the last book about an hour ago actually after getting it from the library. 

Here's a brief summary of the series. Basically it's the year 2025 and the government has become corrupted by the President who is working with this government organization called Global-1, or G-1 for short. The President has forced everyone 17 and older to get the Bar Code Tattoo, a tattoo that stores all your genetic and money information with nanobots. You no longer have to carry around a wallet or credit card. Sounds pretty great huh? No. Not at all. It is destroying people's lives! It won't let some people pay bills or even get into a store! 

17 year old Kayla Reed's life has exploded with the Bar Code. Everything in her life has fallen apart just because she choose not to get the Bar Code Tattoo. Kayla had joined a Bar Code resistance group called Decode that is against getting the Bar Code. She then falls in love with one of her fellow resisters and they run away together to the Adirondack Mountains after tragedy strikes within Kayla's family.

So I don't want to spoil too much of the series, but I just want to say that I was greatly disappointed by the second book. It was kind of a let down and it felt that that Weyn had a good idea, but it fell apart on paper. The final book, however, was so much like the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. Like the Uglies series book Extras, The Bar Code Prophecy starts out with a new character that has not been talked about in the previous books, and introduces a love interest for the new character. The main characters from the previous books also come back in the middle or near the end of the books. All in all, I think the first book was my favorite. It was the beginning and I think it showed the most character development for Kayla. It also showed the beginnings of the strong bond between Kayla and Mfumbe, her boyfriend.

To conclude, I thought this series was okay. It's definitely not going on my Top Ten List, but I think I would reread it given the chance. The reason I got the first book out was it was written by one of my favorite authors. Weyn also write the book Distant Waves, which I've read over three time! I love that book so much! I would totally recommend it over The Bar Code Tattoo series. Until next time!

Important!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to announce something. I, Carly Jensen, and hopefully my admin as well, will be doing our Top Ten Books of 2014 list December 22, the first day of our winter break and Thalia Grace's from PJO birthday! We will tell you them from 10 being the least favorite, to 1 being the best book we've read this year! I have read so many book this year so I don't know how I'll choose! I'll keep you posted on more details when they arise! I'm super excited! Are you? 

When We Wake

Hey all! I know! Sorry for not getting this review out earlier! This one is on the book When We Wake bye Karen Healey! I read this one a couple of weeks ago too and really enjoyed it! 

I bet you all are wonder what it's about, so here we go! Australian native Tegan Oglietti is dead. Or she was before scientist brought her back to life 100 years after she died. The future isn't what she (or anyone else) thought it would be. Dark and dangerous secrets arise, and Tegan must make a choice: fight for a better world, or ignore the horrors and live like a good little government puppet? Healey spins a tale of what she imagines the future like, and leaves it up to us to change it. 

This story is a lot like the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield. The main character has her main love interest at the beginning of the book go away or not like her back so she finds a new one who is completely different from her old flame. In this case, Tegan's boyfriend happens to be dead, and now she finds a boy who looks a lot like him in looks, but isn't like him in personality at all. It's also like the Bar Code Tattoo trilogy by Scott Blake, in the way that it's a dystopian novel that empowers a girl to choose between saving her country or bowing down to the government.

I honestly really, really liked this book. I thought it was well written and reminded me of those other books I read. This is a hard genre to write in, in the way that all of the books are very similar in plot base. But I thought Healey was able to spin this wonderful tale and make it stand out to me. Not that she wrote it specifically for me, but it seemed like that at times during the book! I got my hands on the sequel While We Run, and I'm really enjoying it! It was a bit more confusing than the beginning of When We Wake, but I was able to figure it out, and now I really love it!

My favorite character in this book had to be Tegan. Being the main character I felt I could really understand her better than any of the other characters. Healey really allowed me to connect with her in the form of music. Tegan really likes the band The Beatles, who I listen to all the time! Just check my iPod! I have an whole Greatest Hits album on there! She also likes to play guitar, which I really, really want to learn (but have no ambition)! She's also funny and has a very dry sense of humor. But thing I like most about her is her relationship with Abdi. He's this guy she meets in the future who looks exactly like the boy she had a crush on in the past. At first Abdi acted really cold and distant toward him, but after some time they slowly developed a friendship that turned into something more. I think they are one of the cutest book couples I've ever read about (which is saying something because I've read a lot of books!).

To sum this up, I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was well written and the characters were well developed. I can't wait to finish the sequel While We Run! Until next time!
~Carly

Icefall

Hey guys! Here is my next review on the book Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby! I read this book a couple of weeks ago after having it on my shelf for years. I finally picked it up after my English teacher put it on the summer reading list for this year. So I decided to pull it off my shelf and crack it open. 

So to start off, let's give you a summary. Princess Solveig, her beautiful sister, Asa, and her brother the heir to the throne, Harold. They have been sent to a hidden fortress for protection while their father fights in war. They are trapped there because the fjord has frozen. As winter drags on, it becomes clear that there is a traitor in their midst. No one is safe from accusation, except for the perfect villains... How long can the traitor stay hidden before they are found out?

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and the characters were developed well. The only thing I didn't particularly like about Solveig was how she was so insecure about herself, and it seemed like all the other characters needed to mollycoddle her. But after she overcomes this, she is a very strong character who tries her very hardest in every task she takes on. 

I also really like the character of Hake. He takes care of Solveig and her siblings like they were his own; in a guard type of way though. He would do anything for them, because he has nothing left to care about. He never had a wife or kids, and never talks about his family. He's very sweet, but is not afraid to put his foot down on some matter he deems will have bad or unsatisfactory results. He is by far my favorite character. 

I have always loved reading stories about Greek and Roman mythology, but this is my first heavy Norse story. I know a little bit about the Norse gods from Marvel movies and a presentation I did on a story about Loki and Baulder, but after that I don't know much. This helped me get familiar with some of the legends and myths before Rick Riordan's Norse mythology series comes out next year. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this! I really appreciate it! If you already read this book and liked the author's writing style, then check out another one of his books, The Clockwork Three! Please R&R! 

~Carly 

P.S My admin should have her next post up soon! Be on the lookout for that! 

The Rules for Disappearing

The Rules for Disappearing By Ashley Elston was an amazing book that I loved so much. It is a story  about a girl who was stuck in the Witness Protection Program. Don't let the cover fool you, she didn't run away by herself. 

"My eyes are larger, the angles are stronger, my face looks too thin. The woman was right-no one from my former life would ever recognize me. I am truly gone." 

Meg Rose Jones is always changing every month, eye color, hair color, style. I can't imagine bing in her shoes. Ethan, dreamy farm boy, had tried to help her, even if he didn't know her secret. He wanted to be her friend. Meg knows not to let anybody in, but can she help it? 

This book is full of suspense to keep you guys on the edge of your seats. The end is truly fascinating, and I enjoyed it, and it made me think how sad it is to be in the Witness Protection Program. I could never leave my friends behind. All in all, I really liked this book and I highly recommend it. Thanks for reading! 

Hi!

Hello people!
I'm a new admin at this blog for Carly! I am her best friend and she wanted me to help her do this. My name is Giselle and I love fantasy and mystery books. The scarier, the better. :) I love recommending books and reading them more. I hope you guys enjoy the books I recommend! Thank you guys so much, and thank you Carly for letting me do this! 

The Montmaray Journals

Hey guys! So this is a post that should have come out a while ago, but I haven't gotten around to it with school and volleyball etc. But I have been really busy reading books! My English teacher requires us to read for at least twenty minutes each night, so I've read four or five pretty long books to do reviews on! The first of which is the Montmaray by Michelle Cooper!

This series takes place before and in the middle of World War II. It is the diary of Princess Sophia FitzOsborne of the island of Montmaray. She is the middle child; her older brother Tobias (Toby) is away at school in London and her younger sister Henrietta (Henry) is refusing to grow up and become a proper lady. They live with their smart older cousin, Veronica, the old housekeeper Rebecca, and their faithful dog. Life is simple, and money is tight. The king of Montmaray is mad after traumatic incidents in the first Great War where almost all of the male citizens of Montmaray were killed. Simon Chester also pops into the island from time to time. The trilogy follows the family from living happily on Montmaray, to being forced into exile after Germans raid the island, to fighting in World War II.

I really enjoyed this series! It was heart breaking for sure, with unexpected plot twists and deaths, but I was able to rejoice and be happy along with Sophie and her family! There is a cast of funny and quirky characters, and there are a lot of real people from history in here as well!   Some examples are the Kennedy family, Winston Churchill, and Neville Chamberlain to just name a few. Cooper captures the emotions of our second World War and the historical hardships of the upper class in a way that I've only seen Downton Abbey accomplish.

My favorite book in the series was probably the second  book. It follows the events of the family being exiled to London and living with their aunt. They go to parties, partake in clubs, and get presented at court. I think the reason I like it so much is because I can relate Downton Abbey's characters and themes. Except while Downton Abbey focuses on both the upper and lower class, while the Montmaray Journals just captures the events of the upper class.

I really loved this series, and I recommend it to everyone who likes history and is in middle school and high school. I learned a whole lot about World War II and the politics involving it. The cast of characters taught me that no matter where you come from, you shouldn't let anyone get in the way of loving someone.

Please R&R my latest post! Have you read this series? What did you think of it? Tell me in the comments! Thanks for reading! The next post will be up later today or tomorrow!