Book Review : Love Is Hell by Various Authors

Love Is Hell by Melissa Marr, Scott Westerfeld, Justine Larbalestier, Gabrielle Zevin, Laurie Faria Stolarz

Product Details Reading level: Young Adult Paperback: 272 pages Publisher: HarperTeen (November 25, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 0061443042 ISBN-13: 978-0061443046 Available on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Sure, love is hell. But it's totally worth it.

In these supernatural stories by five of today's hottest writers—Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely), Scott Westerfeld (Specials), Justine Larbalestier (Magic or Madness), Gabrielle Zevin (Elsewhere), and Laurie Faria Stolarz (Blue is for Nightmares)—love may be twisted and turned around, but it's more potent than ever on its quest to conquer all.

From two students who let the power of attraction guide them to break the hard-and-fast rules of their world to the girl who falls hard for a good-looking ghost with a score to settle, the clever, quirky characters in this exciting collection will break your heart, then leave you believing in love more than ever.

Note: This book consists of 5 individual short stories. I will review them one by one.

Sleeping with the Spirit by Laurie Faria Stolarz

I started off with this story, feeling very excited. I had read Stolarz's Deadly Little Secret not long ago and loved it to pieces. But I found Sleeping with the Spirit boring and predictable. This is definitely not one of Stolarz's best works.

Stupid Perfect World by Scott Westerfeld

This one was even worse. I never really finished it. While most people has a liking for this particular story, I found myself confused and clueless about the whole thing. Sorry, Scott, I really love your Uglies series but Stupid Perfect World is not for me!

Thinner Than Water by Justine Larbalestier

Unexpectedly, I found myself enjoying this story more than the previous two. Thinner Than Water is downright beautiful, bone-chilling and treacherous. Well done, Larbalestier!

Fan Fictions by Gabrielle Zevin

Fan Fictions somehow reminds me of a short story written by Anthony Horowitz in The Complete Horowitz Horror. It's called The Hitchhiker. Does that title ring a bell? I was surprised by how this author (whose name I've never heard before) weaves this eerily twisted story perfectly, sending readers away feeling shocked and awed at the end. Kudos to Gabrielle Zevin!

Love Struck by Melissa Marr

I enjoyed this story. It was really sweet and charming. Filled with Celtic myths of Selkies (mythological shapeshifting creatures - often in the form of seals - that lives in the sea) and a decent amount of teen romance, this story is going to make you smile.

Overall Rating: - 3.5 stars

Book Review : Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Product details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK, March 2010
• ISBN-10: 1847389082
• ISBN-13: 9781847389084
• Ages: 12 and up
  

"Special Circumstances":

The words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumor -- frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally's never been ordinary.

And now she's been turned into one of them: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid.

The strength, the speed, and the clarity and focus of her thinking feel better than anything Tally can remember. Most of the time. One tiny corner of her heart still remembers something more.

Still, it's easy to tune that out -- until Tally's offered a chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke permanently. It all comes down to one last choice: listen to that tiny, faint heartbeat, or carry out the mission she's programmed to complete. Either way, Tally's world will never be the same.

"Specials"...special as the word sounds, it is actually a term used to acknowledge a unique kind of people who are created to aid the Special Circumstances in keeping the pretties stupid, and the uglies out of trouble.

Tally Youngblood is now a Cutter (a special type of Special), and her brain has been altered to capture the slightest imperfection in others. Being a cutter, Tally enjoys the privileges of changing her appearance as she like. However, she is now very sensitive towards the frailties of human nature and cringes at the very sight of Zane's trembling hands. At last, she decides to listen to Shay's order to carry out a seemingly impossible mission and secretly help Zane to become a Special. The one thing that she doesn't know is that the consequences of her reckless actions will endanger others... and maybe lead to their doom.

This book makes a good ending to the Uglies trilogy. It is not a really happy ending, but I enjoyed it fairly well. Even though Tally is now a Special, she still has to go through the many events that are similar to real-life happenings, such as love, life and death of someone close as she chooses the path that leads her to her future. You will discover that peace is one thing which is hard to obtain and hard to maintain. It can only be reached if two opposing forces are willing to make a pact and tolerate one another. In Specials, humanity is brought to a new level with the help of Tally and her friends, and is given a fresh start.

The author delivers a few messages regarding human nature and teenage issues via this book. First of all, there is this "humanity is a cancer" thing. In the book, humans destroyed their own kind because of their selfishness and greed about three centuries ago. This is to enlighten readers about the problems in nature that have arisen nowadays. Secondly, there is this pretty-ugly contrast which reveals the fact that the current society has a tendency to judge people by their appearance over their hearts, admiring the ones who seem pretty and gorgeous and loathing the idea of ugliness. I was horrified when I read the part where Tally and her fellow Cutters practice self-mutilation by cutting their arms with a knife to achieve an "icy" feeling. This is one of the teenage issues in our society. Some teenagers will intentionally injure their body without suicidal intent. Basically, this is caused by mental illness, psychological factors or the effects of drugs. I believe Scott includes these issues so that we can have a better view of some of the atrocious things that some people actually do.

In a nutshell, I'm satisfied with Specials, and I will recommend it to fans of Uglies and Pretties. Even though I have heard some negative comments about Specials, I still enjoyed it nonetheless because the middle part to the ending was really good and fast-paced, despite the flaws that are found at the beginning at the novel. Specials managed to reach my expectations, and I hope to read more books by Scott Westerfeld in the future.

Rating:

My deepest gratitude to Kathryn from Simon & Schuster UK for sending me a paperback copy of Specials for this review! Thank you, Kathryn!

Scott Westerfeld was born in Texas, and received a BA in philosophy from Vassar in 1985. He splits his time between New York City and Sydney, Australia. He is the author of Midnighters, Uglies, So Yesterday and Peeps. You can visit Scott Westerfeld's website to know more about him.

Buy Specials (paperback) at:
Simon & Schuster UK :: The Book Depository

Visit the Uglies Fansite
Follow Scott on Twitter

Book Review : Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Product details

• Paperback: 384 pages
  
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK, March 2010
• ISBN-10: 1847389074
• ISBN-13: 9781847389077
• Ages: 12 and up

Tally has finally become 'pretty'. Her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are cool, her boyfriend's gorgeous, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted. But beneath all the fun - the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom - is a nagging feeling that something's wrong. Something important. And sure enough, when a message from Tally's 'ugly' past arrives, the fun stops cold. Now Tally has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life...

In Pretties, Tally is back with a brand new look, and a brand new brain. But despite having all the luxuries and fun a pretty can ever wanted, Tally is not content with her current situation. She senses that something is not right, and when someone she recognizes from the Old Smoke comes to her with a message, she starts to find the way to regain her lost memories.

Let's talk about the good things first. I loved the adventures that Tally went through in Pretties. I admired her spunk and courage. Scott had created a fabulous sequel to Uglies. Tally's escape from the New Pretty Town was very dangerous, but exciting at the same time. Pretties is full of unexpected twists and turns, which left me in awe of the author's creativity in writing.

Tally's life seems to be more complicated now. She is involved in a love triangle, with two charming princes --- one pretty (Zane) , and one ugly (David). Tally is not sure whom she loves more, but when the time comes and she has to pick someone, who will she choose? I'm sure readers will have a mix feeling for Tally's temperament, just as I do. Sometimes, I like her while the other times I don't.

"He turned to face her again, his late-pretty composure crumbling. "But you're..."

"Pretty? Think again." She smiled. "I'm Tally Youngbood. My mind is very ugly. And I'm taking your car."

On the other hand, I pity Shay, Tally's ex-best friend. She was once a good person, but she had now turned to a darker side because she wanted to seek vengeance on Tally's previous betrayal. Sometimes, the inability of forgiving others' wrongdoings will only burden oneself with never-ending hatred.

"YOU are like that, Tally. You have ALWAYS been like that! No cure is going to make you any different--you were busy betraying people a long time ago. You didn't need any operation to make you selfish and shallow and full of yourself. YOU ALREADY WERE."

Personally, I think Scott had other intentions when he explained the life of the 'Rusties' in this book. He reflected the damages that was caused by the human race towards nature which finally lead to their own doom. A new minor character called Andrew Simpson Smith (Tally's guide to the New Smoke) was introduced in Pretties. He wanted to kill the 'outsiders' who caused his father's death. Whenever I think of this, I wonder if it is better for the people in New Pretty Town to remain pretty-minded and be forever protected from the harshness and violence of reality?

Then she remembered Dr.Cable's words. Humanity is a cancer, and we are the cure.

I noticed that the author used the names of famous Egyptian beauties to name the places in the Uglies and Pretties, such as Cleopatra Park and Nefertiti Stadium. I wonder if any of Scott's fans notice about this? What does it actually imply?

Even though Pretties is full of adventure and the ending is a perfect cliffhanger, I still have to comment on some petty little things that I disliked while reading the first 3o+ pages of the book. The words 'bubbly' and 'bogus' seems to have a constant appearance in the first 3o+ pages, that is, about 12 times each. It bothered me a little to read the words again and again, but still, that's not a big problem.

Overall, I think Pretties is an enjoyable and interesting read. If you have read (and liked or loved) Uglies, you might want to check this book out. I'm looking forward to read the third book in the series, Specials, as I'm anxious to know what will happen to Tally next!

Rating:

My deepest gratitude to Kathryn from Simon & Schuster UK for sending me a paperback copy of Pretties for this review! Thank you, Kathryn!

Scott Westerfeld was born in Texas, and received a BA in philosophy from Vassar in 1985. He splits his time between New York City and Sydney, Australia. He is the author of Midnighters, Uglies, So Yesterday and Peeps. You can visit Scott Westerfeld's website to know more about him.

Buy Pretties (paperback) at:
Simon & Schuster UK :: The Book Depository

Visit the Uglies Fansite
Follow Scott on Twitter

Current Status

I'm currently reading two books, Pretties by Scott Westerfeld and The Iron King (Iron Fey, Book #1) by Julie Kagawa. You can read the synopsis of both books below. Due to a coming exam, I will stop blogging for a while and concentrate on my studies. I will be back on next Wednesday or Thursday! Happy reading, friends! :)

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

This sequel to Uglies (S & S, 2005) continues to provide a gripping look at a dystopian future, but does not stand on its own. Tally, the protagonist of the first book, has forgotten all that she did as an Ugly and has completely embraced the mindless life of a New Pretty, going to parties, drinking heavily, and thinking of nothing more than the next bit of entertainment.

It is not until one of the Uglies from New Smoke comes and delivers a message for her that leads her to two pills, that she begins to remember the real reason she is Pretty: to see if the cure will work. Tally and her new boyfriend, Zane, each take one of the pills and both begin to stay focused for longer periods of time. Then he has a bad reaction to the pill, and Tally has to make a desperate attempt to get him to the only doctors who can help him–the ones outside the city.

The Iron King (Iron Fey, Book #1) by Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Book Review : Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Product details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's (4 Mar 2010)
• ISBN-10: 1847389066
• ISBN-13: 978-1847389060
• Ages: 12 and up

Tally lives in a world where your sixteenth birthday brings aesthetic perfection: an operation which erases all your flaws, transforming you from an 'Ugly' into a 'Pretty'. She is on the eve of this important event, and cannot wait for her life to change. As well as guaranteeing supermodel looks, life as a Pretty seems to revolve around having a good time. But then she meets Shay, who is also fifteen - but with a very different outlook on life. Shay isn't sure she wants to be Pretty and plans to escape to a community in the forest - the Rusty Ruins - where Uglies go to escape ' turning'. Tally won't be persuaded to join her, as this would involve sacrificing everything she's ever wanted for a lot of uncertainty. When she is taken in for questioning on her birthday, however, Tally gets sent to the Ruins anyway - against her will. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she could ever imagine: find her friend Shay and turn her in, or never turn Pretty at all. What she discovers in the Ruins reveals that there is nothing 'pretty' about the transformations...And the choice Tally makes will change her world forever.

Nowadays, people spend a lot of time on their appearances, and are always fretting upon the slightest imperfections. Some even undergo plastic surgery so that they can appear more gorgeous and attractive. The vainness and frailties of humans resonate within this book which I'm going to review today, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

Is becoming pretty a good thing?

At first, Tally was eager to get the operation, so that she could become a 'pretty', instead of her current 'ugly'. She yearned for others' admiration, attention and adoring glances. When her friend, Shay, decided to flee to a place called 'Smoke', she did not want to run away with her because she could not bear to lose her only chance of becoming pretty.

But she was coerced to go there anyway, to bring her friend back and to help the Special Circumstances abolish 'Smoke' once and for all. She was in a dilemma - should she betray her friend or remain as an 'ugly' forever?

I realized from this book that what you've been taught since young are not necessarily true, and all humans remain flawed no matter what they do. Scott has successfully created a highly-believable dystopian world in Uglies which addresses the various issues that a teenager may face in real life - peer pressure, appearance, lack of confidence and conformity. I think that it may be better if the government in Uglies can educate its people so that they can learn to differentiate between good and evil, rather than turning them into brain-damaged pretties with no ideas, wills and personalities of their own. Everyone deserves a fair treatment and personal freedom.

Uglies is exciting, refreshing and thought-provoking. It was such a pleasure reading it! I had never come upon a book with such a wonderful concept and theme. The ending of Uglies left me wondering what will come to pass in the next book, Pretties. I absolutely can't wait to read it!

"What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful" --- Scott Westerfeld, Uglies, 2005

Rating:

My deepest gratitude to Kathryn from Simon & Schuster UK for sending me a paperback copy of Pretties for this review! Thank you, Kathryn!

Scott Westerfeld was born in Texas, and received a BA in philosophy from Vassar in 1985. He splits his time between New York City and Sydney, Australia. He is the author of Midnighters, Uglies, So Yesterday and Peeps. You can visit Scott Westerfeld's website to know more about him.

Buy Uglies (paperback) at:
Simon & Schuster UK :: The Book Depository

Other versions:

Visit the Uglies Fansite
Follow Scott on Twitter

Book Review : Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Product Details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Paperback: 448 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847386741
• ISBN-13: 978-1847386748

Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

Leviathan is a young adult fiction set in an alternate history World War I with Steampunk elements, wherein the Clankers are characterized by their use of mechanized war machines, while the Darwinists are characterized by their use of living creatures evolved specifically for war. The main characters in this story are the teenage son of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Prince Aleksander of Hohenburg and Deryn Sharp, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service.

The story is written from two different perspectives --- Alek and Deryn's. Both of them really are great characters. Alek learns the way of survival the hard way when both his parents are assassinated and he must flee Austria or he too risks being murdered. Deryn is a spunky, intelligent and brilliant airman. However, her secret of being a girl is in constant danger of being discovered.

I think Scott Westerfeld has done a good job in presenting the characters in this story, and his rich description of the mechanical robots, fabricated animals and the "gigantic flying whale" --- Leviathan, which is actually made up of lots of different living creatures really captivates me. The story itself is full of adventures, twists and turns, political intrigues and various scientific creations. However, I think the ending of the story seems a little abrupt, with Dr. Barlow (Darwin's granddaughter) fostering three mysterious eggs, although I know that the author probably intends to explain more about that in the sequel.

The illustrations by Keith Thompson are plain gorgeous! I love them! His drawings fit the story perfectly.

I'd recommend this book to those who enjoy steampunk and science fiction, although I have a feeling that it is mainly oriented towards teenagers (both the main characters are 15 years old). Overall, Leviathan is an entertaining read and I look forward to reading the next book in the series!

Rating:

My deepest gratitude to Kathryn from Simon & Schuster UK Ltd for sending me a review copy of Leviathan! Thank you, Kathryn! :)

Other versions:

Purchase Leviathan at
Simon & Schuster UK / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Scott Westerfeld was born in Texas, and received a BA in philosophy from Vassar in 1985. He splits his time between New York City and Sydney, Australia. He is the author of Midnighters, Uglies, So Yesterday and Peeps. You can visit Scott Westerfeld's website to know more about him.

Watch the book trailer: