J.C. Buchanan

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Title: Swipe (Swipe, #1)

Author: Evan Angler

Published By: Thomas Nelson (2012)

Synopsis: Everyone gets the Mark. It gives all the benefits of citizenship. Yet if getting the Mark is such a good thing, then why does it feel so wrong?
Set in a future North America that is struggling to recover after famine and global war, “Swipe” follows the lives of three kids caught in the middle of a conflict they didn’t even know existed. United under a charismatic leader, every citizen of the American Union is required to get the Mark on their 13th birthday in order to gain the benefits of citizenship.
The Mark is a tattoo that must be swiped by special scanners for everything from employment to transportation to shopping. It’s almost Logan Langly’s 13th birthday and he knows he should be excited about getting the Mark, but he hasn’t been able to shake the feeling he’s being watched. Not since his sister went to get her Mark five years ago . . . and never came back.
When Logan and his friends discover the truth behind the Mark, will they ever be able to go back to being normal teenagers? (Taken from Goodreads)

Review:

This book was amazing! I loved, loved, loved it. It was captivating and very suspenseful, not to mention the author has an incredible writing ability. There were numerous words that even I didn’t fully understand, and they flowed naturally in the story. A lot of books try this, but they never come off well—either the big words come off condescending, or like the author purposely put them in there to make it sound “better.” In Swipe, every word flowed, fit with the story, and made the story better.

The characters were, plainly put, awesome. They were realistic and lovable and easy to connect to. There were a lot of characters, but the way it was written made it easy to keep track of them all. Another truly amazing aspect is how every single character tied into the story in an important way. You start the story, meet all these random characters, and wonder how in the world they’re all connected, then it all comes together in the end. Not to say I didn’t see some of the reveals coming, but it was still done really well.

Despite the numerous characters, each one has their own personality and is their own person, truly developed and written in for a reason. I did not see one random background character that swoops in and out without contributing; every single character contributed, someway, to the plotline, and every character was very well done.

On the downside, it was a bit confusing. I had trouble understanding certain scenes or what was happening. I can’t say for sure it was the writing or storyline itself, because this was a very detailed story, so I could have just gotten distracted and lost track of what was happening. But I will say that some of the dialogue was just so choppy—as well were a couple scenes—and in the beginning I had a hard time making sense of things. However, my confusion never lasted for long and it did all make sense in the end. It was just a smidge confusing in the beginning.

The other downside I have is the random ‘girl problems’, as Logan puts it, that seems to be going on behind everything: Logan trying to figure out who he likes and who likes him. Oh, Hailey likes me. Hmm, but I think I like Erin. Does she like me?—that sort of stuff. Okay, so I guess that I get it, that Hailey only wanted his attention because she was the spy. And I suppose that the stuff between Erin and Logan, well that’s realistic and understandable at that age. So I do understand the reason behind it, mostly, and I appreciate it that there is actually a reason. But for me, in the context of the story it just seemed completely out of place. I’m glad the author didn’t take it any further, though I am curious to know if there’s going to be future stuff between Erin and Logan;)

Overall:

As a whole however this was a spectacular read. Vivid, suspenseful and full of fun, this is one book you don’t want to miss: a unique dystopia in a world of stereotypes.

Negative Content:

None.

Rating: 5.0

Recommended to: All teens everywhere!

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Title: Beyond the Laughing Sky

Author: Michelle Cuevas

Published By: Dial Books (2014)

Synopsis: Ten-year-old Nashville doesn’t feel like he belongs with his family, in his town, or even in this world. He was hatched from an egg his father found on the sidewalk and has grown into something not quite boy and not quite bird. Despite the support of his loving parents and his adoring sister, Junebug, Nashville wishes more than anything that he could join his fellow birds up in the sky. After all, what’s the point of being part bird if you can’t even touch the clouds?

With an ear for language and a gift for storytelling, Michelle Cuevas will remind fans of Stuart Little and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon that anything is possible. Even flying. (Taken from Goodreads)

Review:

This book was simple. Simple plotline, simple set, simple characters. Usually when I rate a book two stars it means I disliked it, but in this case, there just simply wasn’t enough that I did like. I didn’t hate it, but there was nothing I really liked either.

The story looked interesting—about a boy who is part-bird and is trying to learn to fly. There were some nice morals of being different and such, but for me, it was too cliche and predictable to feel real.

This book was very abrupt; there’s really no other word to describe it. There was no real storyline, but rather a bunch of random chapters illustrating random parts of Nashville’s life. Each chapter jumped to a whole different scene and set unrelated to the last; it didn’t really flow at all. Towards the end it was better, but not till the very end. This book was very, very short, too. I read it in one sitting and it maybe took forty minutes.

So, to sum it up, there was nothing I directly disliked. I just didn’t like it at all. I found it poorly written and dull at times. It was a cute story, but nothing beyond a cute story.

Negative Content:

None.

Rating: 2.0

Recommended to: Not recommended.

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Title: Graceful (Willow Falls, #5)

Author: Wendy Mass

Published By: Scholastic Press (2015)

Synopsis:

Angelina D’Angelo has left town to see the world. It’s now Grace’s turn to use her magic to protect the people of Willow Falls, and she is up to the challenge. This is her destiny, after all. But destiny is a funny thing—it doesn’t always behave the way you’d expect it to.

Mysterious postcards from Angelina begin showing up in the mail, Grace’s parents are freaking out with worry, and something BIG is coming to town that will affect everybody who lives there. But all Grace is powerful enough to do is turn leftover meat loaf into pizza.

Fortunately, she’s not alone. She has Team Grace on her side! Amanda, Leo, Rory, Tara, David, and Connor know a thing or two about magic and how it works. But none of them are prepared for what’s coming, and none of them know how to stop it. Life in Willow Falls is about to change forever. (Taken from Goodreads)

Review:

Remind me again why I decided to read this book? Maybe because I had nothing else to read.

Simply put, it was a silly book. (Unrelated to the story, but seriously, who dedicates their book to their fictional characters???)

First of all, let’s address the love and romance. THESE CHARACTERS ARE THIRTEEN YEARS OLD. Are you trying to encourage relationships that young? There is no 13-year-old in the world who acts like that. Are there 13-year-olds who say they have a boyfriend or girlfriend? Sure. But that’s besides the point. There is simply no 13-year-old who acts like this. I mean, seriously? Things like “My heart does kinda ache” “I’ll stand by her to the end” “I just want her to be happy”  Are you kidding? Unrealistic romance that would never be seen from 13-year-olds!

If the end of the book came and I found out Amanda and Leo and the others are sixteen, the book would make a lot more sense. Never mind, I take that back, because all the characters act and speak no more maturely than a fourth or fifth grader. There is no noticeable age difference between Grace and the others, despite the fact there’s three years between them. If anything, Grace acts older!

Anyway, back to the point, it was ridiculous. And over-the-top. Unintentionally over the top. The love was supposed to look natural—not a chance.

Secondly. Most of the story made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Oh, they’re going here now—wait, why? She has powers—wait, didn’t she just say she didn’t have powers yet? Who’s that character again? Wait, how is that exactly important to the story? Here, Grace is going to go unfreeze time—waaaait a second, wasn’t the whole last scene written to help Grace figure out how to unfreeze time because she didn’t know how? And I don’t recall her learning how to!!
Lots of scenarios like these made it very hard to keep track of things. Everything was just so confusing! Maybe if I’d devoted every ounce of my attention to this book, I would know. Unfortunately, this wasn’t interesting enough to be worthy of every ounce of my attention.

On the positive side (there isn’t much), the plot was action-filled. It was interesting enough for me to keep reading, if anything. The author did do a good job of tying in everything and everyone and connecting it all to the magic. I did like the way each character got their own sections and you could see a bit into their minds, even it was mostly Grace.

Overall: There isn’t really much else to say except for more things I didn’t like, so I’ll end it here. I suppose that if you like unrealistic romance (did I mention every single character besides Grace and Bailey are involved in some sort of relationship?!) then you will like this book, but otherwise…don’t waste your time.

Negative Content:

None.

Rating: 2.0

Recommended to: Not recommended.