Waiting on Wednesday: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by US, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Title: Requiem
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 5th 2013
Find on: Amazon, Goodreads

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight. Of Pandemonium, ALA Booklist noted that “like all successful second volumes, this expands the world and ups the stakes, setting us up for the big finale.”

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor. Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

We are big fans of Lauren Oliver, especially of her Delirium trilogy! After reading this description above and finding out that Hana and Lena are going to meet again, we really wanted the book so much! After reading Hana, we didn't believe that she would appear in any of the books again. Also who would Lena choose: Julian or Alex? You'll find out when you read this book, which I hope you do!

Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Release Date: October 25th 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Find on: Amazon, Goodreads

Quick Review: What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.

The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Detailed Review: I confess that the book was quite boring at first, but after that, things started to build up into one big and amazing ending. When Samantha Kingston realize what really the purpose was for reliving her last day again, I almost cried. ALMOST. I am definitely not a crybaby.

   Day one: Sam is nervous and excited because it's Cupid day and it's going to be her BIG day. She and her boyfriend Rob Crokan are going to do it that night. But before that, she has to go to a party which her ex-best friend and the boy who has a major crush on her, Kent Mcfuller has held. It was there that Sam and her friends met Juliet Sykes, whom they nicknamed Psycho, for some unknown reason. She tells them that they're bitches and Lindsay, Sam's friend shoves Juliet and a game of push-and-wet-the-victim-with-beer starts. Sam is the last to push Juliet and she felt strange when the girl had come towards her. After that, Juliet ran out of the doorway. In the end, Sam and her friends got winded up in a car accident after they left the party. Everything went black.

   Day two: Pretty much the same happens like the day one. Sam realized that she's reliving her last day again. I got bored at this part.

   Day three: Here, everything started to change. This time, she wants to save her own life and her friends' life. So they didn't go to Kent's party and ended up having a sleepover in one of Sam's best friends, Ally's house. As Sam waited for the time that would supposedly mark her death, she feels a sense of loss of time and then it passes. It was past the time when she and her friends had the accident two nights before. But this didn't mean that everything was ok again, because a phone call came bringing news of-you wouldn't believe it- Juliet Sykes dead, who'd commited suicide. After that, Sam, occupied with her own questions and also with a sense of dread. In a basement, Sam finds out that Lindsay and Juliet used to be best friends. The day ends a few minutes later.

   Day four: Sam has a fight with Lindsay. That pretty much sums it all. Oh and she and Rob tried to do IT in Kent's bedroom in the party. Yes she went to the party again. And she ends up sleeping in Kent's bedroom with the owner beside her. Sweet.

   Day five: Everything's normal again. But Sam doesn't go to school. Instead, she brings her little sister Izzy to one place she'd been to when she was small and had run away, Goose Point. After that, Sam has dinner with her family in a restaurant and coincidentally Sam saw Juliet's little sister in the restaurant with her friends. After, when they went home, Sam creeped out of her house and went to find Juliet, for some unknown reason. When Juliet's not at home, she decided to go to the party to find her. She finds Juliet outside Kent's house and you wouldn't believe it. Juliet flung herself at the car which turned out to be Lindsay's and she DIED. Elody was also the same, who was seated at the passenger seat and had gotten the most damage, the seat which Sam was supposed to occupy. Sam ends up with Kent and he kissed her! The end.

   Day six: A bouquet of roses to Juliet Sykes with a note, saying 'FROM YOUR SECRET ADMIRER'. This was from Sam. But somehow Juliet had gotten the wrong gist of it and accused Sam and her friends for taunting her. In a bathroom in Kent's party, Juliet tells the story of how she Lindsay had been best friends and why Lindsay had suddenly left her. In the end though, Juliet still died. Surprise. But she wasn't killed by Lindsay's car, but by two passing vans. In the end, Sam's in Kent's room again and they ended up kissing each other. Nice.

   Day seven, the ultimatum: A rose to Juliet saying 'It's never too late'. Hooray! This time Juliet's not angry anymore but hopeful. Sam meets Juliet outside and this time she does what's right. Read this:

In that split second she's launched herself into the road, but she looks back, startled, recognition lighting up her eyes. Then I'm hurtling out behind her. I slam into her back and she goes shooting forward, rolling toward the opposite shoulder, just as two vans converge, about to pass each other.There's a furious high whine and someone- more that one person?- and screams my name and a feeling of heat all through my body and the sensation of being lifted, thrown,, by a huge hand, a giant's hand; the earth revolves, turns upside down and sideways and then a fog of darkness eats up the edges of the earth, turning everything to dream. 

Sad isn't it? That's the reason why you should read it.

Brief Review: 'This book was not a disappointment in the end. This book gives you a view when a perfect life converges into an imperfect one. And when fate  decides to twine the most unexpected people together. Lauren Oliver delivers a good debut that would touch one's inner soul.'

Final rating: 4/5 'Really liked it'

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Review: Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake

Title: Anna Dressed In Blood
Author: Kendare Blake
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: August 30th 2011
Find On: Amazon, Goodreads

Quick Review: 'Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...'

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. 

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinaOkry: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Detailed Review: Ok first off, this book was absolutely a fun and an exciting read as well as unusual. I always loved ghost stories but this is totally new spin of ghost hunters/creepy killers. This story is told by 'Cas' who is known as Theseus Cassio Lowood. He is a boy who avenges his father by taking his legacy of wielding a knife that is able to kill ghosts. Like the blurb says, his Mum is seriously a witch who brews stuff in the middle of the kitchen and a ghost sniffing cat. It starts off where Cas has decided to hunt a ghost which is a hitchhiker. It's main goal is to keep you from getting home. 

Cas picks him up and they swerve out of control as a bridge starts coming closer and closer. Then when he killed the hitchhiker. Followed up, Cas and his unusual family goes to a town called Thunderbird where they hear about a ghost called 'Anna Dressed In Blood'. Voila! The ultimate ghost is awaiting Cassio. And meeting a telepathic kid named Thomas. 

'But there somewhere out there is one that matters. Somewhere out there is the one that I came for, who is strong enough to squeeze the breath out of living throats. 

I think of her again. Anna. Anna Dressed In Blood. I wonder what tricks she'll try. I wonder if she'll be clever. Will she float? Will she laugh or scream? 

How will she try to kill me?' 

But guess what? Typically cut short, Cas befriends the most popular girl, Carmel  for info. There he meets other students like Mike, Will and Chase who are all typical jocks. Cas then gets juicy info out them by spending time at a party about Anna. They decide to take some time off at Anna's house and sooner then later Mike gets ripped up by Anna HERSELF! I couldn't believe how horrible Mike got hit!

'She sets him on his feet. He's bleeding from cuts on his face and hands. He takes one step backward. Anna bares her teeth. I hear my voice coming from somewhere else, telling her to stop or just screaming, and Mike doesn't have any time to scream before she thrusts her hands into his chest, tearing through skin and muscle. She pushes her arms out to the sides, like she's forcing her way through a closing door, and Mike Andover is torn in half. Both halves fall to their knees, jerking and skittering like insect parts.'

I mean how disgusting can that be? Mike in a pile of his torn-up body. Luckily Thomas pulled Cas out just in time. Then the real adventure begins where Carmel learns who Cas really is. A ghost hunter like his Dad. Thomas soon joins the group after the event and helps Cassio with his hunt for Anna. The next few days he has horrible nightmares about a creature standing over him while he sleeps. He feels incredibly disturbed until one morning he decides to go Anna. 

There he starts falling in love with her! And- the scene breaks apart as Carmel interrupts their conversation. I thought Anna was WOW. She has a different side to her. A soft one and her horrible screeching tearing apart human self. She chases them out. 

Guess what? Carmel and Thomas happens next. I mean, they fall in love! Okkk..., double dates. Dead girl + Hunter = who knows? But anyway they try to figure out how to kill Anna and instead helped her. The dress she was wearing is actually something to keep her inside of the house forever. Until Cas helps her by changing the dress and also meeting the mysterious creature standing over his bed. The creature is called an Obeahman which eats flesh to become stronger. 

There Cas and Obeahman have a final stand off. Instead Anna saved Cas butt as she dragged the Obeahman to Hell, leaving Cas completely sad and happy. One because Anna's gone. Two, she's free...or so he thought. But I love the characters. They were amazingly written and Cas's narrative flowed so easily, I already loved it from the start. I was kinda happy when Anna dragged the Obeahman away everyone. I mean, he was creepy. Imagine this guy eating his or her flesh of someone you knew! 

Yuck. But I loved the end. 

'"Where-" he starts, and looks at me carefully, trying to be delicate. "Where do you think she went?"

I look at my friend Thomas, at his sincere, earnest face. "I don't know," I say softly. There must be a devilish glint in my eye. "Maybe you and Carmel can help me figure it out."

Yet it's not the end.

Brief Review: 'Anna Dressed In Blood was amazingly written and unstoppable. As I read the book, I couldn't stop putting it down even for a minute! I was completely engrossed in this story. Cas was easy-going and a non-stop believer, he was a great character from the start till the end. I can't wait for more!' 

My Rating: 4/5   'Really Liked It'

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Review: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Title: Incarceron
Author: Catherine Fisher
Publisher: Firebird
Release Date: February 28th 2011 (first published May 3rd 2007)
Find on: Amazon, Goodreads

Quick Review: Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells and corridors, but metal forests, dilapidated cities, and wilderness. It has been sealed for centuries, and only one man has ever escaped. Finn has always been a prisoner here. Although he has no memory of his childhood, he is sure he came from Outside. His link to the Outside, his chance to break free, is Claudia, the warden's daughter, herself determined to escape an arranged marriage. They are up against impossible odds, but one thing looms above all: Incarceron itself is alive . . .

Detailed Review: To mention this, this book has won many literary awards and I could see why after I read this book.

First of all, that cover. The key of Sapphique. When I saw that cover, I just wanted to read it straight away but unfortunately I couldn't lunge straight to it as I still had work to do. But when I did read it, I knew I'd made the right choice. 

  The book tells the story of how Incarceron was made, how it wasn't meant to be just a prison but a civilized 'world' where they didn't need to depend on the Outside. And only one man has ever escaped from it: Sapphique. But, slowly the place started to deteriorate until what we have now, until it has become the place that Finn now lives in.

   Claudia, the Warden's daughter is about to me married of to a prince that she doesn't love and doesn't even like. She finds the key of  Incarceron in her father the Warden's study when she got curious and unexpectedly met Finn through the key, which Finn also has in Incarceron.

   Although Finn was told by everyone, including his oath brother Keiro that he was cell-born, he held on to the hope that he actually came from Outside and someone was looking for him.

   Slowly, both of them got to know each other through the key and Claudia is convinced that Finn is the prince charming which she'd known when she was ten years old and was supposed to marry Finn.

   As Claudia desperately tries to think of a way to get into the prison, which she does.

   When both Finn and Claudia meet, they are plunged into an adventure that none has ever experienced: because of one thing: 

   Incarceron is alive.

   *The rest you'll have to read for yourself.

   Just because of that one fact I fell in love with the book. The idea of a live prison got me thrilled and I just loved Catherine Fisher's way of writing. The way each word were phrased gave me a sense of being in the book.

Brief review: My heart exploded after I read this book! Anyone who reads this book must love it! If not... you'll find a death note stuck on your door the next morning after you read this. I have my ways.

 My rating: 5/5 'Totally Amazing'

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TGIF - Feature and Follow Friday #113

FEATURE & FOLLOW FRIDAY is a blog hop that is designed to provide as much exposure towards other bloggers as well as yourself, and to expand following. It's hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, each whom feature a chosen blog for a week, it's also an interesting way to get to know one another bloggers.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: 
What book(s) are you reading right now? What do you think of it? 

Right now, I'm reading 'The Rise of Nine' by Pittacus Lore. Well, I love the Lorien Legacies as well as the other following books before this one. The book is unusual and bounces back between John Smith, Number Six and sometimes other people. I love the old characters and the new ones. It's going quite good so far!

It's still GOOD!

Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Pandemonium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: 28th February 2012
Find on: Amazon, Goodreads

Quick Review: I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

Detailed Review: I totally loved this book, it was better than Delirium! Lauren Oliver wrote the chapters as 'then' and 'now'. So it shows how much that Lena has gone through since she escaped to the Wilds. This part was my favourite.

   Then: When she was in the Wilds, weak and lost, she stumbled onto a group of people and was brought back to their homestead. She becomes a part of their family but there is a price. She has to work for the homestead and can't possibly live there for free. Hardships are revealed in these chapters.

   Now: She is a spy for a group of uncureds in the wilds, along with her friends Raven and Hunter. She goes to DFA (Deliria-free America) meetings and spy on what happens there. She attends high school. And she forgets about everything that's happened before she escaped into the Wilds: Hana, Grace, the procedure and ,,, Alex. A part of her still longs for him. Until she meets Julian Fineman, son of the founder of DFA, Thomas Fineman. When Lena's caught in a mission  involving Julian, she ends up travelling with him. 

   And falling in love with him.

   But... Alex is back. 

   And he's not the sweet and nice boy that Lena used to know.

Brief Review: Oh my god! This book totally got me tensed, especially on the last page. I really wanted to read Requiem, but it's not even out yet! Arrgh! I can't wait till next year! But seriously, Lauren Oliver's love of cliffhangers makes my desire to read the next book ten times worth it. Good job to the author. All credits belong to her.

Final rating: 5/5 'Totally Amazing' (Wish I could give a six!)










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Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 1st 2011
Find on: Amazon, Goodreads

Quick Review: Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Detailed Review: Ironically I fell in love with this book, when it's about a world where love is a virus.

   It's Lena's evaluation day. She's practiced it many times with her aunt already but she's still nervous.

   BUT when she makes a mistake and probably screwed her whole life up by making that mistake, everything changed.

   Enter Alex: a security guard thought to be cured, when he's actually a spy for a group in the Wilds. 
   
   Add in another group of crazy cows and then voila!

    The worst day of her life: not only was her evaluation a mistake, it was a day to remember thanks to the boy with sugary brown eyes and a fake three-pronged scar on hes neck, plus a herd of cows.

   After that, things start to go overboard. Her best friend Hana is changing, and Lena is left alone to deal with her problems, including Alex. She is falling in love with him. After an accident at a party where the uncureds find their freedom there, Lena realizes what love actually is. 

   And just this one act leads to this: her procedure being brought up earlier than expected.

   But she escapes into the Wilds.

   Without Alex.

   A world without love.  A world where love is viewed as a disease: amor deliria nervosa. Could you imagine it?

   Love. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't.

* I know most of you know this book but seriously, SOME people just don't know that this awesome book actually EXISTS.

Brief Review: This book has a good sense of originality. It shows you a world where love is impossible. Never have I seen an author do such good work with this dystopian world, where love is a violation against it. Praise for Lauren Oliver and hopes for more from her. The ending left me gasping and crying. I just had to read the sequel.

Final Rating: 5/5 'Totally Amazing'

   










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