Book Review: Billy Straight by Jonathan Kellerman

Billy Straight (Petra Connor #1) 
Author: Jonathan Kellerman
Released Date: 1999
Publisher: Warner Books

Kellerman isn't just an Edgar Award-winning thriller writer, he's a prominent child psychologist, and it shows in Billy Straight. The hero is a 12-year-old runaway whose sharp mind and straitlaced moral sense make him fit to survive the lurid jungles of Hollywood. One night hiding in Griffith Park, Billy witnesses the butchering of Lisa Ramsey, the cokehead ex-wife of Cart Ramsey, a crummy actor-golfer once busted for pummeling Lisa. Did Cart knife Lisa, or was it his pathetic old football sidekick Greg Balch?

When O.J. was on trial, Kellerman said, "This wouldn't make a good novel," but some of Kellerman's toughest critics say this funhouse-mirror version of an O.J.-like case is his best, better than his famous Alex Delaware series. Psychologist Dr. Delaware has a bit part here, but the heroine is Detective Petra Connor, his distaff equivalent. Kellerman's main strength is his vivid invention of secondary characters and his skill at juggling subplots. When Petra's media-whore boss puts Billy's police sketch in the paper with a $25,000 reward, two marvelously sub-simian bounty hunters join the chase: a vicious Russian ex-cop and the vile biker boyfriend of Billy's stoned-out, trailer-park mom.
*Goodreads Blurb*

MY REVIEW

My fifth Jonathan Kellerman read. As usual, I wasn’t disappointed.

When Billy Straight, a twelve-year-old runaway witnesses a gory murder at a park, he must do everything he can to protect himself from the unknown killer. The deceased is Lisa Boehlinger, a former model and ex-wife of Cart Ramsey, a TV star. Suspicion falls on Ramsey because Lisa had once publicly revealed how he beat her up. Detective Petra Connor and her partner Bishop Stu are called to investigate the case. When the case gets more complicated than they expect, and with Stu’s wife undergoing a mastectomy, Wil Fourrier joins them in the investigation.

A good mystery, fast-paced, and it pulls the emotional strings. Kellerman’s writing is superb. This book has a large cast of characters and the story is told from different point-of-views. The author does a good job of entering his characters’ head and telling the story the way they would tell it, using the kind of diction they’d use. Thus, you won’t encounter a twelve-year-old speaking like a detective, or a street hustler talking like a murderer. The whole California setting paints a solid image in the head. What’s more, Alex Delaware makes an appearance at the end of the book.

This is first book in the Petra Connor series, though I first encountered Petra in Twisted, my favorite Kellerman novel. I got to learn more about her background and her personality. I connected with her because she’s instinctive, caring, and she’s tough.  A good detective, but not a perfect one. Here, she tackles one of her major cases.

As a result of being tormented severally by his mother’s boyfriend, Billy Straight, the titular character leaves home. He moves to Hollywood and lives in the streets and parks for four months before he witnesses the murder. Jonathan Kellerman does well in capturing this kid’s voice. Billy steals book from the library to read, though he says it’s not stealing because he always returns the books he takes from the library.

Billy Straight is just one amazing book. A five Star read.

Check it out if you like mysteries. You won’t be disappointed.

Book Review: Necroscope by Brian Lumley

Necroscope
Author: Brian Lumley
Released Date: September 15th 1986
Publisher: Tor Books

Except to Harry Keogh, Necroscope. And what they tell him is horrifying.

In the Balkan mountains of Rumania, a terrible evil is growing. Long buried in hallowed ground, bound by earth and silver, the master vampire schemes and plots. Trapped in unlife, neither dead nor living, Thibor Ferenczy hungers for freedom and revenge.

The vampire's human tool is Boris Dragosani, part of a super-secret Soviet spy agency. Dragosani is an avid pupil, eager to plumb the depthless evil of the vampire's mind. Ferenczy teaches Dragosani the awful skills of the necromancer, gives him the ability to rip secrets from the mind and bodies of the dead. 

Dragosani works not for Ferenczy's freedom but world domination. he will rule the world with knowledge raped from the dead.

His only opponent: Harry Koegh, champion of the dead and the living.

To protect Harry, the dead will do anything--even rise from their graves!
*Goodreads Blurb*

MY REVIEW

I read Necroscope a long time ago (2003 or 2004, I think) I loved it. Recently, I stumbled across the novel and decided to read it again.

I still loved it.

Necroscope is one of the earliest paranormal/horror novels I read. It’s set during the Cold War era. It introduces a secret branch of a British espionage agency simply called E-branch. The Russians, too, have their own equivalent of the E-branch. These agencies, unlike other espionage agencies, use psychic investigators and spies to achieve their aims. And their agents are referred to as ESPers.

Harry Keogh is the Necroscope, a term he uses in describing his gift. He communicates with the dead; they freely tell him their secrets. They’re lonely, they need someone to talk to, so they enjoy talking with him. We follow Harry through his teenage years until he’s grown and learns of his mother’s death. Before then, his ambition had been to avenge her death but he soon discovers another bigger threat, a threat to the whole world.

Boris Dragosani.

Boris Dragosani is the Necromancer. He’s entirely different from Harry Keogh. Whereas the dead freely tell Harry their secret, Dragosani rips it from them, tears it from their guts and bones. The dead don’t feel pain, but when Dragosani works on them, they feel it. This gift had been passed to him from an undead vampire, Thibor Ferenzcy, also referred to as “The Thing in the ground” because for he’d for years been buried under the earth with his head intact.

Although Thibor Ferenzcy lies in the ground throughout most of the book, he remains a terrifying presence. He plans to use Dragosani to raise himself up. But unknown to him, Dragosani has different plans—world domination.

Can he dominate the world with Harry Keogh, champion of the dead, standing on his way?

You have to find out by reading this cool book.

I loved the book for its originality. It felt good seeing the vampires in a different light again. Here, the vampire is an evil creature. He’s not cool at all. He has no mercy on the humans. He doesn’t go to high school. He isn’t sexy, so you won’t even consider falling in love with him.

While I’ve read many books in which the story is told from the point of view of the protagonist only, Nescroscope is one of those few where we get the see the antagonist as much as we see the protagonist. And because I felt both characters had enough depth, I could connect with them.

In Nescrospe, there are other cool stuffs such as time travel. Using a technique called the Möbius Strip, Harry learns that he can use supernatural doors to move between time and space. He also learns how to summon a dead army. The last part of the book reminded me so much of Evil Dead and Army of Darkness, where we get to see the dead rise from their graves and march on to battle.

The book has a large cast of characters, but I didn’t get lost at all. Most of them were gifted people, and I was reminded of X-Men. I liked Harry Keogh and his cool gifts. I even liked some of the bad guys like Boris Dragosani, Gregor Borowitz. I liked “The Thing in the ground” because of his cunning nature, and I always enjoyed his conversation with Dragosani.

The first part of the book is slow-paced. It covers Harry’s early years and gives details about the Russian E-Branch. Thus making it different from the fast-paced books one reads nowadays. But it serves as a good background for the rest of the book, as well as the series. I hope to read the next book in the series soon.

You might enjoy this book if you don’t mind the wordiness. Just remember it was published during the late eighties; I think some readers didn’t mind wordiness or slow-pacing then, as much as they do now.

Necroscope is a five star read! (*****)

WARNING: Not for the light-hearted. There’s too much BLOOD, GORE and some GRAPHIC SEX here.

Book Review: The Associate by John Grisham

The Associate
Author: John Grisham 
Released Date:  January 1st 1999
Publisher: Century

It's a deadly game of blackmail. And they're making him play.

Kyle McAvoy is one of the outstanding legal students of his generation: he's good looking, has a brilliant mind and a glittering future ahead of him. But he has a secret from his past, a secret that threatens to destroy his entire life.

One night that secret catches up with him in the form of a deeply compromising video of the incident that haunts him. Kyle realises that he no longer owns his own future - that he must do as his blackmailers tell him, or the video will be made public, with all the unpleasant consequences.

What price do they demand for Kyle's secret? It is for Kyle to take a job in New York as an associate at the largest law firm in the world. Kyle won't be working for this company, but against it - passing on the secrets of it's biggest trial to date, a dispute worth billions of dollars to the victor.

Full of twists and turns and reminiscent of The Firm, The Associate is vintage John Grisham.
*Goodreads Blurb*

MY REVIEW

The Associate is my first John Grisham read, but I did not wholly enjoy it like I thought I would.

It tells the story of Kyle McAvoy, a twenty-five year old about to graduate from Law School and plans to work for a public-interest firm. One night a man appears with an incriminating video, secretly taken by a cell phone, which reveals the details of a drunken party few years earlier. The video contains evidence that some of Kyle’s friends may have slept with a girl who may have been unconscious at the time. There’s actually nothing to incriminate Kyle except that he was in the video, drunken and nude. And that’s embarrassing. Thus begins the blackmail: in order not to release the video to the public and to stop a potential rape allegation, Kyle has to work in one of the biggest law firms in the world and steal documents related to a lawsuit between two defence contractors.

Well, the blurb says the book is reminiscent of The Firm, but I haven’t read The Firm, so I can’t compare both books. The story spans a period of ten months. The beginning and middle of the books sets up the story in a fairly slow pace, showing what the life of a first year associate is like at a big Wall Street firm. Then the ending moves in a very fast, non-stop pace. I like John Grisham’s style of writing; there wasn’t too much legal jargon, but I was pleased to learn a few. The book is mainly set in New York, but we are transported back and forth to Pittsburg and York, Pennsylvania.

I liked the main character, Kyle McAvoy, felt some sympathy for him and the grave circumstance hanging over him. Although contemplative at times, I thought he was brave to match the blackmailer’s schemes. I think he’s the only character with enough depth in the story. I liked other characters like the beautiful Dale, who wears fine dresses; Joey Bernardo, Kyle’s friend from Yale University. But I didn’t connect with them. 

My put off with this book, however, was the ending. The last pages seemed rushed and there were lots of unanswered questions. It left me with a feeling like I’d eaten a good meal, but without any water to wash it down my throat. In other words, the meal got stuck in my throat and I couldn’t digest it.

Well, because I couldn’t digest this meal, I’m giving it 3 (***) Stars.

I’ll still check out other meals in the Grisham Restaurant. I think I’ll go for the ones prepared in the early nineties.

Ps: This is my 100th post! :) Thanks to everyone who's every stopped by this blog. You rock!

Book Review: The Cobra Event by Richard Preston

The Cobra Event
Author: Richard Preston
Released Date: August 29th 1998
Publisher: Ballantine Books

Five days ago. a homeless man on a subway platform died in agony as startled commuters looked on. Yesterday, a teenager started having violent, uncontrollable spasms in art class. Within minutes, she too was dead.

Dr. Alice Austen is a medical pathologist at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. What she knows is that the two deaths are connected. What she fears is that they are only the beginning…

*Goodreads Blurb*

MY REVIEW

It begins with a common cold. You find yourself blowing your nose every moment. You sneeze occasionally. You take some cold syrup. The syrup doesn’t help. You feel even worse. You're drifting apart. Someone’s talking to you, but you aren’t paying any attention. You feel weak and weary and disoriented. And then you suddenly drop to the floor, thrashing around violently. You feel strange blisters in your mouth. Next you begin to chew your lips and the insides of your mouth in relish. You know you’re hurting yourself but you just can’t help it. Then your spine begins to curve backward and backward, until you…

Sounds creepy, right?

Well, I’ve just described how the Cobra virus works.

The Cobra Event is a realistic science fiction. It’s about a virus, Cobra, which affects the brain and turns one into a monster, killing oneself from inside.

A homeless man dies on a subway platform. Days later, a teenager dies under strange circumstances. Dr. Alice Austen of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta is sent to New York to examine what seems like an outbreak of a disease. Along with her fellow scientists, she discovers this disease is actually a virus, released by an unknown terrorist, with strong indications of a bigger release to come soon. What follows is a flurry of scientific activities as they battle to discover the properties of this new virus, because doing that would help identify the terrorist.

This is one of those kinds of books I refer to as edutainment. I learnt much scientific stuff while reading. I was entertained by the chilling story as well. There were lots of biological and medical stuffs I liked in the book. I was distracted, though, by some of the expositions. The author seemed to explain everything, and with too many details, the reading experience felt like science lecture sometimes. I was detached a bit, but I kept on reading because I wanted to see how everything ends, though I predicted rightly who would and who wouldn’t survive.

About the characters, I didn’t really connect with any of them. I felt they didn’t have much depth. The bad guy, a scientist-turned-terrorist, however, was a real bad guy.

Overall, I’d say The Cobra Event is a wonderful read. I loved the chills it gave me—sometimes I stopped to wonder what if the air I were breathing was filled with virus particles. That’s what this book does to you. It shows you what a bioterrorist attack could look like today. I’d have given it more stars if the first part of the book didn’t drag out. The last fifty pages, with its fired shots and explosions, were the best parts.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good medical thriller and who doesn’t mind lectures while reading fiction. The author has some really great nonfiction books.

You’ll love this book if you’re a Michael Crichton fan.

So, here goes my three (***) stars to The Cobra Event.

Book Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Released Date: April 24th 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for again.

Enter Julie Kagawa's dark and twisted world as an unforgettable journey begins.
*Goodreads Blurb*

MY REVIEW

There is a saying that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But I don’t always agree with it. I mean, I judge books (some of them) by their covers. And that’s what attracted me to this wonderful book, even more than its enticing blurb.

Did I say this book is wonderful? 

Sure, it is.

Sixty years ago, civilization was hit by a plague – Red Lung. This plague reduced the human population, thereby causing chaos everywhere. A good opportunity for the vampires, who came out from their hiding and began their rule over the humans left. As a human in this new dark world, you’re either a Registered or an Unregistered. Being a Registered has its privileges. You get to eat good food, you live in good conditions. But then every two weeks you have to submit a portion of your blood to the vampires. You fail to do that and you’ll be dead. As an Unregistered, you have no privileges. You don’t exist in the society, you’re on your own, and if you’re ever caught stealing from the vampires or a Registered, you would be hanged.

What a harsh world!

It isn’t harsh yet. Hear this: outside the vampire cities is a deserted world overrun by the rabids. These guys aren’t your regular zombies; these guys are faster and are more vicious. You’d definitely prefer becoming a vampire's dinner than running into them.

Allison Sekemoto is one of the Unregistereds. She survives in the fringe by scavenging with her crew of three scrawny boys. One night she and her friends leave the city of New Covington to scavenge in the ruins, and on their way back, they’re attacked by the rabids. The attack is brutal; it leaves her friends dead and her on the brink of death. Then a lone vampire appears and gives her a choice to either let him transform her or let the wounds of the rabids kill her off. Allie hates the vamps, everything about them, but when faced with such a grim choice, she decides on the transforming. It’s always been in her nature to survive, even if it meant becoming “something she loathed.”

And thus begins the story of Allison’s new life as a blood sucker, a demon, a monster, a VAMPIRE.

The Immortal Rules is quite voluminous and is divided into four parts, narrated by Allison:

1. Human: This part tells the story of Allison’s life in the fringe and stops where she is turned into a vampire.
2. Vampire: Allison’s new life begins. She learns more about her new self and trains with her master, Kanin, who teaches her how to survive.
3. Monster: An “incident” makes Allison to leave New Convington and she begins to find her way in the forests, the ruins, discovering a world she never knew existed. Here she must learn to control the demon inside her or it would overcome her, thereby causing havoc to her new friends.
4. Wanderer: An “incident” makes Allison to part with her friends.

The Immortal Rules is my first Julie Kagawa read, and I loved it. The vampire plus post-apocalyptic elements in the book made me enjoy it even more. I liked Ms. Kagawa’s writing style, and I liked Allison’s narrative voice, sometimes tough, sometimes soft, and wholly realistic. The book feels like a journey, and you can’t help but think along with Allison when she makes certain choices. Sometimes you feel pity for her, sometimes you’re mad at her, other times you just understand her. And then like all good books, sometimes you ask yourself, “What would I do if I was in that situation?”

The world building is awesome. I loved the ruins, the abandoned cities, the fallen skyscrapers, the waterlogged cities, the yards crawling with weed, the rooms overrun by rats, the cracked streets filled with abandoned vehicles. Imagine a head of deer running about in a city. Sometimes reading the book felt like watching a movie. You feel as if you’re right there beside Allison, taking in the view of a post-apocalyptic world.

On characters, The Immortal Rules has a wide, memorable cast. There’s Zeke aka Ezekiel Crosse, the kind-hearted boy, who sticks up for everyone, though I felt he was too good, and I hated that he always tried to impress Jeb aka Jebbadiah Crosse, Zeke’s father. Jeb felt more real than his adopted son, Zeke. He’s a tough, fanatical, no-nonsense character. Sometimes I hated him, sometimes I liked him. And if there’s one character I wish I could enter the book and yell at, it must be Ruth. Ruth is so annoying; she pries on people’s affair, and she’s jealous and sometimes pessimistic. But she felt very real to me. I think she’s even more memorable than Zeke. And then there’s Kanin, Allison’s master or “sire,” a mysterious character. I liked him because his mysteriousness, although you don’t get to see him again after the first half of the book.

Overall, I’d say The Immortal Rules is a good book. It doesn’t only entertain but also draws you in and makes you ask questions. The pacing is quite slow in some places, but it has plenty action. I mean a lot of action. Did I mention that Allison is a kick-ass protagonist, the girl with a katana, who slashes the rabids like she’s cutting vegetables? And the ending! Oh, man I loved the ending. I wish I could talk about it without leaving any spoilers. That ending left me feeling like I’d just seen a good movie.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a vampire/apocalyptic/dystopian YA novel. I’ve seen good reviews on the second book, The Eternity Cure, and I hope I’ll read it soon.

And so, here goes my five stars (*****) to The Immortal Rules.

Feature and Follow #10 - Bloggers I Would Like to Meet

Happy Friday, everyone! :)

Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The purpose is to meet new people and gain more followers in the book blogging community. If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers. But you have to know, the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me. The general the rules are:

•  Follow the Feature and Follow Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
•  Follow the Featured Bloggers
•  Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
•  Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
•  Follow Follow Follow as many as you can. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
•  If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers. Thanks!!

Here’s this week's question: What blogger would you most like to meet in real life? Tell us about him or her.

Since I started blogging, I’ve met so many cool people online. I wish I could list them all, but I can’t, so here are some which I’d love to meet.

1. Robyn @ robgirlbooks. Apart from being a very good supporter of my blog, Robyn is such an awesome person. You only have to read her posts to know that. I love her posts, especially the Think out Loud meme, which comes up every Thursday. Did I also mention that she’s a wonderful writer? Well, I haven’t read any of her books, but I have on my ‘to read’ list. And if you want to read nice books, movies and even a zoo review with good concept, do stop by her blog.

2. Uzoma @ 85degrees. Uzoma is my brother from another mama. He’s a good writer; reading his works inspires me. In fact, his 100-Word stories inspired, my 400-word horror story, The Beach Man. He is such a cool artist and did I mention we beta read for each other? Well, the day I’d meet with him I’m going to buy him a lot of beer for all the good suggestions he’s been making in my WIP.

3. Florentine @ Readiculously peachy. I think it was the sweet title of her blog that got me curious about her. Apart from the title, her blog, in my opinion, has the most beautiful design I’ve ever come across. You can’t help but admire the beautiful layout. Sometimes you even want to lick it, because it looks so delicious. Okay, blog title and design apart, I love her reviews. They’re fun to read, and recently I enjoyed her review of The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa. That review made me get the first book, The Immortal Rules, which I started reading today. And Florentine is a good supporter of my blog.

4. Athina @ Between My Lines. I’d love to sit by the beach with her one day, discussing writing and publishing. Even though I haven’t met her, I can feel her passion about writing, especially in her blog posts about writing, editing, and criticism. Athina seems to me like a headstrong person who’ll never give up until they achieve their goal. And that’s what she’s been doing ever since, seriously working to better her debut novel, DAZED. I hope to read that book one day.

Okay, I think I’ll stop here. There are others I want to meet, like Alison and Parajunkee, so I can say ‘thank you’ for hosting such a wonderful meme.

And thanks to everyone who’s ever stopped by The Creative Forum!

I love you all! :)

Book Review: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

AMERICANAH
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Released Date: April 11th 2013
Publisher: Fourth Estate

From the award-winning author of Half of a Yellow Sun, a dazzling new novel: a story of love and race centered around a young man and woman from Nigeria who face difficult choices and challenges in the countries they come to call home.

As teenagers in a Lagos secondary school, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are leaving the country if they can. Ifemelu—beautiful, self-assured—departs for America to study. She suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships and friendships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze—the quiet, thoughtful son of a professor—had hoped to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. 

Years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a writer of an eye-opening blog about race in America. But when Ifemelu returns to Nigeria, and she and Obinze reignite their shared passion—for their homeland and for each other—they will face the toughest decisions of their lives.

Fearless, gripping, at once darkly funny and tender, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story set in today’s globalized world: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s most powerful and astonishing novel yet.

*Goodreads Blurb*

MY REVIEW

Americanah is a love story, not the kind of love stories I grew up reading, those with really beautiful women and handsome tall guys. In fact, the lovers in this one aren’t too attractive, but their love is. Their love is beautiful, but then it is tried, beaten, stretched, yet it endures and gets stronger.

Okay, love aside. Americanah deals on the subject of race and hair. You may wonder how hair could be an issue, but it is in this book. The book begins in a hairdresser shop, where Ifemelu goes to make her hair for her return journey to Nigeria. There, she muses on her decision to go back home, and then, in Adichie’s well-known style, the narrative jumps back in time, and we are transported to Ifemelu’s teenage years. We see her as a girl with strong opinions and who isn’t afraid of saying what’s on her mind, a trait which she always gets rebuked for, especially by her elders. She meets Obinze in her secondary school, and they fall in love. The narrative follows them through their secondary school to their university days, where things begin to fall apart. University lecturers are frequently striking because the military government delays their salaries. This forces students to remain at home with nothing to do. And then people begin to travel out of the country, in search for greener pastures and for better education. Ifemelu grabs the opportunity when it is presented to her and she goes to America to study, while Obinze hopes to join her later.

While in America, Ifemelu notices something she has never thought about before – race, and she would later say, “We all wish race was not an issue. But it’s a lie. I came from a country where race was not an issue, I did not think of myself as black and I only became black when I came to America." The issue of and racism makes her start a blog: Raceteenth or Various Observations About American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black.

I loved the blog posts that appeared from time to time, a good innovation, which left me marveled. I’ve never read any novel where this was done, and I found it impressive, not just because of the concept, but because it doesn’t distract you from the main story, although it makes you think and wonder, and you can’t help but mark some of the posts so you could visit them later.

I enjoyed this book. There were funny scenes where I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. And the dialogue is good; it felt so real and I could identify with it, especially in the Nigerian settings. I loved Adichie’s descriptions of Lagos, London, and all the American cities where Ifemelu sojourned. Even the character descriptions, sometimes funny, create solid images in the head. And the writing is superb.

Americanah has a large cast of memorable characters. There’s the younger and older version of Ifemelu and Obinze; Obinze’s mother, one of the coolest fictional mother I’ve ever read; Ifemelu’s Dad, who uses big vocabulary and doesn’t hesitate in blaming the government for his misfortunes; Ifemelu’s mother, devoted to religion and isn’t rational in her thinking sometimes. Then there’s Aunty Uju and her son, Dike; Blaine, Ifemelu’s African-American boyfriend, who she refers to as “Professor Hunk” on her blog. And then Curt, the White American Boyfriend, rich, always cheerful and easy to please. I loved each of these characters. They have enough depth and substance – they felt too real. Not the kind of characters you will easily forget. I think my favorite among them is Obinze’s mother. She’s a thoughtful woman with a calm demeanor, the kind of woman I’d listen to talk and talk and I won’t get bored, because she spits wisdom from her mouth.

Overall, I’d say Americanah is a remarkable book, a thoughtful book, a book filled with truth; it touches other issues such as social inequality, immigration, self-acceptance, loss of cultural identity, and change. The book remains with you after you finish reading, begging you to “read again.” Without doubt, I’ll read this book again at a later time.

The Purple Hibiscus has always been my favorite Adichie novel. Now, Americanah, I think, is my favorite.

It’s a Five Star read, and although I didn’t like the book cover, I still look forward to Adichie’s next book.

Book Review: Prey by Michael Crichton

PREY
Author: Michael Crichton
Released Date: November 11th  2003
Publisher: Avon

In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles -- micro-robots -- has escaped from the laboratory. This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing. It is intelligent and learns from experience. For all practical purposes, it is alive. It has been programmed as a predator. It is evolving swiftly, becoming more deadly with each passing hour.

Every attempt to destroy it has failed.

And we are the prey.

*Goodreads Blurb*

MY REVIEW

This is my first Michael Crichton read, and I loved it. Prey is told in first person by Jack Foreman, a stay-at-home dad, who suspects his wife, Julia, of having an affair. Julia, a vice president at Xymos, a molecular manufacturing company, works late night, and one night she doesn't even come home at all. Eventually, Julia shows Jack a video demonstration of what they’re working on - a cloud of nanoparticles, which works as one big camera. Then something goes wrong at the facility and Jack is invited by Ricky, his former employee to come and help fix the problem. A cloud of nanoparticles -- micro-robots -- has escaped from the laboratory, and he has to get it back. But this cloud is self-reproducing, intelligent; it evolves quickly, and is now a threat. There at the facility Jack learns the truth about his wife, the nanoparticles, and his former co-workers.

The book has a slow start. Jacks suspects his wife of having an affair and he’s taking time on deciding what to do because he isn’t very sure yet. He doesn't want a divorce; he wants to keep his family together, and his kids, always biting each other, are not helping matters. He can’t get a job; he’s rejected wherever he applies because of a ‘got fired for doing the right thing’ incident in his former workplace.

And then the story kicks off when he’s asked to come and solve a problem at the plant. Then comes the action, the suspense, and of course the thrill. You wouldn't want to be anywhere near the swarms – those molecular robots. They're dangerous, they hurt the skin, and they can get into your nasal cavity, suffocating you. They kill wildlife as well as humans. Jack has to stop it, no matter what. Because he designed the program used in modeling the swarms. But he can't do it himself. There are other notable characters there like the quiet, strong and beautiful Mae; devious Ricky; loud-farting/non-stop talking Charley; and of course Jack’s beautiful and secretive wife, Julia. Some of these characters help to achieve the goal, while others stand in Jack’s way. There are lots of deaths in the end. 

I loved the technological and biological details the author wove in the various part of the story. It’s blended well into the narrative and doesn’t cause any distraction. Even though I found some of them boring or overly done, I still learnt something from them.

The five-paged bibliography at the end of the book shows well the thorough research undertaken by the author for this book. It is a book worth reading, and I’ll certainly read more titles from Crichton. I have my mind on Jurassic Park next. Although I’ve seen the movie, I’d still love to experience the book side of it.

I recommend this book to any sci-fi and techno-thriller lover. If you like the science-goes-wrong genre, then this is the book for you.

Four stars (****) to Prey.

Book Review: Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark

Two Little Girls in Blue
Author: Mary Higgins Clark
Released Date: January 1st 2006
Publisher: Pocket Books

When Margaret and Steve Frawley come home to Connecticut from a black-tie dinner in New York, their three-year-old twins, Kathy and Kelly, are gone. The police found the babysitter unconscious, and a ransom note from the "Pied Piper" demands eight million dollars. Steve's global investment firm puts up the money, but when they go to retrieve the twins, only Kelly is in the car. The dead driver's suicide note says he inadvertently killed Kathy.

At the memorial, Kelly tugs Margaret's arm and says: "Mommy, Kathy is very scared of that lady. She wants to come home right now." At first, only Margaret believes that the twins are communicating and that Kathy is still alive. But as Kelly's warnings become increasingly specific and alarming, FBI agents set out on a desperate search.
*Goodreads Blurb*


                                                                    MY REVIEW
Two Little Girls in Blue is my fifth Mary Higgins Clark read. And I enjoyed it.

It’s a wonderful book, and I was fascinated by the idea of twin telepathy, which made me pick up the book to read. Like every other Clark book I’ve read, this one is fast-paced, suspenseful, and it kept me reading into the night. Two three-year-old twins are kidnapped, and one, Kelly, is returned after some days with a suicide note saying the kidnapper unintentionally killed the other twin, Kathy. I couldn’t help but read more, as I wanted to see how Kathy would be reunited with her family. A good suspense, I like the way the story ended with the kidnapper revealed and all other crimes solved. I loved the chapters, short and quick, with most of them ending in a cliffhanger.

My put off with this book, however, was the large amount of characters. I could count at least twenty-five named characters. And it was so hard to keep up with all of them. Also, I thought the outcome of the story was predictable.

My favorite characters were Margret Frawley, mother of the twins and Angie Ames, one of the kidnappers. I thought there was enough depth to both characters, one of them, a loving mother in distress, the other, a psychopath and evil woman.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good suspense. And if you’re interested in twin telepathy, then you should check it out.

That being said, four (****) stars to Two Little Girls in Blue. I’m still going to read more titles from the author.

Book Review: Legend by Marie Lu

Legend (Legend #1)
Author: Marie Lu
Released Date: November 29th 2011
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.
*Goodreads Blurb*

MY REVIEW

Legend is set in futuristic Los Angeles, now a Republic at war with its neighbors. Did I enjoy this book?

Yes, I did.

I was captivated from the beginning, and the opening sentence is one of the best I’ve ever read: My mother thinks I’m dead.

I was hooked.

And the second sentence makes you even want to read more: Obviously I’m not dead, but it’s safer for her to think so.

Why is it safer for her to think so? You have to read this amazing book to find out for yourself.

Legend is action-packed, has lots of suspense, the plot is fast-paced, the writing is good, and it has a little touch of romance. Well, I was happy I wasn’t reading another Romance novel categorized as YA. The book is written from the point of view of two characters: Day, the most wanted criminal in The Republic; June, prodigy of The Republic, only citizen with perfect scores (1500) in the Trials. Even though I thought the world building lacked in some aspects, I still loved the book, still had mental pictures of the settings in my head. I loved being taken to the streets of the Lake sector, a place I can as well call ‘The Ghetto’.  The street life kept reminding me of Dickens’ Oliver Twist and James Colliers’ Chipper, except that characters in this one were older.

I loved the POV switch between June and Day. It lets you know what’s going on in their heads. If the book were written from the POV of Day only, I think I’d hate June. I didn’t have any problem with recognizing each character, although Day’s narrative was printed in bold letters.

Day’s voice is that of a tough, bad-boy, street-hardened guy, while June’s is softer, contemplative, and strong-willed. Both characters are resilient, but if I have to choose who I liked best, then I guess it’s Day. I admire his sacrificial spirit, always been there to help his family. And that’s another thing I loved about this book – the close family ties. I cared so much about it.

Legend has other lovable characters. There’s Tess, Day’s sidekick. She’s younger, vulnerable, and near-sighted. But she’s strong. She knows how well to fix an injury with bandages. I cared for her just like I cared for the main characters. Then there’s Kaide, another tough girl, who gets into skiz fights. And I liked John, Day’s older brother, who supports and is very protective of his family.

If there’s something I didn’t like about Legend, then it’s the world-building. I wish I had more mental images in my head like I do when reading other good YA Dystopia books. I also thought the word-count was too low, compared to other YA Dystopia novels.

I can’t wait to read Prodigy. But I hope it’s more enjoyable than Legend. That being said, I present my five Stars (*****) to Legend, and I commend Marie Lu for this wonderful debut. I’m also looking forward to the movie.

Movie?

Yeah, I think it’s typical of good YA Dystopian books.

Book Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent (Divergent #2)
Author: Veronica Roth
Released Date: March 1st 2012
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
*Goodreads Blurb*


                                                                     MY REVIEW
Honestly, I didn’t enjoy INSURGENT as much as I enjoyed DIVERGENT. It would have been a perfect read, but I had some issues with it. I won’t talk about those issues now; first I’ll talk about what I liked in the book.

INSURGENT is one book filled with surprises and a lot of revelations about the dystopian world and characters the author created. After imagining what some of the other factions might look like and how the people live inside them, I get to experience it myself here. I was transported to the Amity, then the Factionless, then the Candor, and finally to the Erudite. I was also brought back to the Abnegation. Thus it feels like I’ve lived in all of these factions. The author describes each scene so well I could picture everything in my head. The writing is good, the sentences and paragraphs flows so well, and the pace is fast – I kept turning pages after pages even after deciding I would stop, do something else and then continue reading again.

My disappointment, however, were the two main characters, those two people who made me fall in love with the first book, that kick-ass heroine and the mysterious, quiet guy: Tris and Four (He’s referred to Tobias almost throughout the whole book, but I prefer the name Four) I felt like Tris and Four were replaced by completely different people. Yes, I know that characters in a book, especially in a series, ought to go through some changes. But they seemed to develop into characters I wouldn’t care to read about. Four changes from the cool guy he was in the first book to some annoying guy here. He keeps secrets from the girl he loves, he’s always angry with her, he always screams at her, even though he knows all what she has passed through. He just wasn’t the supportive and cool guy I liked in the first book. Also, he was more like a secondary character in this one.

Tris is worse. I was put off by her too much whining. She is quite different from the tough, resilient character I got to know in the first book. Yeah, I know it’s hard to get over the death of your loved ones, and it’s harder to put guilt behind you’ve killed a friend, but at some point you just have to put everything behind you and move on, considering the kind of dangerous society you live in, and considering the fact that a lot of people want you dead. Tris was so full of indecision in this one, and I wondered whether she’d borrowed the traits of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. At some point I felt like screaming at her, “Come on, Tris. Pick up that gun and shoot at your enemies!” I hope she’d have gotten over the guilt trip in the next book, if not I’m never, ever going to forgive her.

Also, I didn’t like Tris' over-recklessness in this one. She keeps putting herself in danger even when she doesn’t need to. Four says it better here: “I love Tris the Divergent, who makes decisions apart from faction loyalty, who isn’t some faction archetype. But the Tris who’s trying as hard as she can to destroy herself … I can’t love her.”

Yes, Tris, I can’t like you when you keep reminding me that you’re just a character in a book. I liked you better in the first book, where you felt so real to me. Concentrate on the external conflict, instead of allowing the conflict inside you to consume you.

Somehow I think the tension between Tris and Four was overdone. She lies so much to him, and Four in turn keeps secrets from her. For much of this book, apart from the exciting action scenes, and the beautiful writing, Tris does nothing more than feel sorry for herself, or get into romantic quarrels with Four.

Despite my disappointment with the main characters, I’d say it’s a good read, and the action kept me going. The book ends in a cliffhanger, leaving me wanting more. But I can do nothing but wait for the third book, which has no title yet. I can only call it DETERGENT in the meantime.

Four Stars **** to INSURGENT.

Check out my review of DIVERGENT here.

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent #1
Author: Veronica Roth
Released Date: May 3rd 2011
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
*Goodreads Blurb*

Traditionally, I tend to give my rating after my review, but I'll go against conventions on this one. Divergent is a 5-Star read.

Why 5-stars?

Okay...

Firstly, the book is awesome. Why? Because when I read a book and I picture myself inside the world the author created, then I think the book awesome. The author did a good job in the world creating process. ONE STAR *

Secondly, the characters are captivating. Yeah, when I read a book and I begin to imagine myself chilling or chatting with any of the characters, it means that I really like those characters too well, and they feel so real to me, like real people, instead of like characters in a book. I don’t know what to say yet about having a dream where I saw myself amongst the Dauntless initiates. TWO STARS **

Thirdly, when I read a book and I begin to marvel at the story concept, then I say it’s a good book. Divergent is similar to The Hunger Games. Yeah, it’s true. But I think the similarities only ends in the first-person present tense narrative, young, independent, resilient female protagonist, and genre too. Divergent is unique on its own. Instead of the people being divided into districts like in The Hunger Games, the people in the book are divided into five factions, based on five virtues that each faction possesses: Candor (honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (peacefulness), and Erudite (intelligence). And there's another faction called the FACTIONLESS. I just loved the concept. Far different from being put in an arena where you fight and kill each other until one person is remaining. THREE STARS ***

Overall I’d say the story is captivating, the action and pace fast. There are good action scenes in this one, and I think the author excels there. The book is too visual; I could picture the whole world inside my head, and I like the way the author describes things. The dialogue is interesting, and the author sure knows how to weave in suspense, dropping necessary information when you least expect it. FOUR STARS ****

Yeah, I loved the book. FIVE STARS *****

Four is my favorite character in this one. I like him because he’s unpredictable, strong, and he’s even more intriguing and humane than Beatrice. Sometimes I imagined him being the protagonist. I thought the author also did a good job in creating convincing villains.

I recommend this book to anybody who wants to read about strong-willed protagonists and doesn't want to read about weak, dependent protagonists. Beatrice is one of the strongest female protagonists I've read, and she’s the perfect book girlfriend, even though she’s short, skinny, and not as pretty as other female protagonists I've read. But you don’t want to mess with her; she’s a kick-ass.

Happy Reading!