The Selection by Kiera Cass REVIEW

The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: 2012


     I am sitting down to write this review minutes after putting down this book having finished reading it. I have so many emotions about this story right now, but all I think is "why do I have to wait three long months to finish this story that I got so wrapped up in!?" I started this book two weeks ago, and put it down until this past Wednesday, and since then I couldn't put it down. It is now 2:30 am, but I need to get all my thoughts out now since I am so pleased with the story and already on edge to find out what happens next. 

     So, as always, we start by looking over the cover. This one gets the seal of approval from me. Both the sleeve and hard covers are pretty to me. The image of our leading lady, or at least a model that resembles her physically, is posed on the cover in a stunning ball gown surrounded by mirrors capturing all of her different angles. It captures the eye, and may even help to sell the book, as Cass mentions in her "Acknowledgments" section in the back of the book. The hard cover of the book is a light blue with silver crown imprinted on it. It's simple, but I prefer when a book's hard cover has a small emblem that is representative of the story printed on it versus a plain cover of a solid color and not much else going on. 

     But enough with aesthetics, lets get to the even better part: the plot and story itself. At first I wasn't completely captured by the book, but, let me tell you, it didn't take very long for me to get hooked. By the time I was a few chapters in I wondered about what was going to happen next and had a pure desire to keep on reading. For me, the story was a imaginative way to envision the future, a story that allowed me to relate to the main character (who is a young girl fighting for her individuality while dealing with realistic teenage-girl-things), a touching romance (that isn't even completed in the first book!! cliff hanger warning!), a more behind-the-scenes experience to a show like The Bachelor, and a book that even offered me a few Hunger Games-esque elements that kept me very satisfied. I may be rambling, but I feel like this book had so much to offer that I always seem to enjoy while reading. And, even though I am a teeny bit frustrated that I can't just continue reading about America Singer and The Selection, I am satisfied with the fact that The Elite (Book #2) is coming out in April, 2013, so I don't have to wait too long like I have had to in the past while waiting for sequels. 

     Instead of raving about my own connections to the book and the specific things I love, let me give you a short plot summary if you have no idea what the book is about. The story takes place in the future, in the country of Illéa, which stands in place of the United States of America. Society in this time and place is divided into a very strict caste system that categorizes people by wealth and occupation. Our leading lady, America Singer, appropriately named, is a Five which makes her an artist/musician. As a way to give commoners hope and the chance of drastically improving their family's caste, the royal family holds a Selection for the future princesses of Illéa, by having girls from all over the country enter a competition to win the affection of the prince who is approaching an age to be married at. In the book, a Selection is about to take place and America is eligible. If she chooses to enter and gets selected, that could be hope and happiness for her already-struggling family. But, this choice could also mean the loss of the live she genuinely dreams of for herself. I'll go no further in describing this book right now though, to make sure I don't include any spoilers. 

     Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I fell in love with the characters and the world they live in, I fell in love with the plot, and I cannot wait to read The Elite and find out what happens next. Kiera Cass did a fabulous job with this book, in my opinion, and I encourage everybody to go buy this book or take it out at their local library. I certainly think it is worth the read, and I most definitely think it will be worth waiting for the sequel to come out. But I can't be certain until April! It's already set to be pre-ordered in my Barnes & Noble cart. 

     Bottom line: this book is a great read and extremely captivating, and I highly recommend giving it a shot. If you have any specific questions or a question about something I didn't address in this post, feel free to ask and I'll be sure to get back to you! If you've been wondering about this book or if you've been searching for a new book to read, I hope this helped!



                                  Sincerely, 

                Spenser Lee & Simply Lovely Lit

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson REVIEW

Tiger Lily
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson
Publisher: Harper Teen 
Publication Date: 2012 


    I read Tiger Lily over the summer, and since then I have filled my brain with a college semster's worth of knowledge and hopefully not forgotten enough to mar the value of this review. If I falter on the plot or details, I can assure you that the one thing I know for certain is that I absolutely loved this book. 

    As always, beginning with the cover, it's pretty cool. At first glance you may think it is an actual tiger lily, the flower, but it's actually a girl in a fiery gown curved in just a way that the strips of fabric fan out like petals. The actual hard cover is simply orange with a black binding over the spine - I'm not usually a fan of the orange-and-black theme unless its Halloween, but I guess it goes with the motif of the flower. 

    Now, on to the story. This review may be short, but it'll be sweet. This story tells the tale of Neverland and Tiger Lily pre-Pan (as in Peter). I have loved the story of Peter Pan since I was little, I even had a crush on the cartoon version (not really sure how that happens). When you open up the front cover of the book it says, "Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair..." So I had to hear about this romance that had never crossed my mind as a possibility, and I am very happy I did. Major props to Jodi Lynn Anderson, because in my opinion, it takes a lot of creativity and guts to create a story that thrives off of the existence of an already-successful one. I think this for two reasons: one, you are writing something that could potentially conflict with the perceptions of the fans of the already-established work and they will react negatively towards your story, and two, you have to write in accordance with every little detail that occurred in the first story and find a way to make it fit in a believable way. It takes a lot of thought, consideration, and imagination to do those things, and Jodi Lynn Anderson was very successful in the creation and publication of Tiger Lily. 

    I'm not going to lie, this story had me crying. Even though I flew threw it (because I was so into it),  I got so attached to the characters and fell in love with the story. It changed my opinions of the characters that had already existed in my mind for so long, I fell farther in love with some, fell out of love with others, but still had an extreme appreciation for both stories. Peter Pan is such a classic, and if you loved it as a kid and just aren't satisfied with one trip to Neverland, pick up Tiger Lily and go there again, it's worth it.  

    If you have any specific questions or a question about an aspect I didn't cover, feel free to ask, but my bottom line is: It's such a fantastic read and definitely worth it! If you've been wondering about this book or searching for a new book, I hope this helped!



                                Sincerely, 

                   Spenser Lee & Simply Lovely Lit
    

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks REVIEW

Of Poseidon
Author: Anna Banks
Publisher: Feiwel And Friends
Publication Date: 2012



    A series of books I began not too long ago was the "Tempest" series by Tracy Deebs (Tempest Rising, Tempest Unleashed, and the soon-to-come Tempest Revealed), and when I finished the second book of that series, I decided to continue on with the mermaid theme. So, of course I went on to Barnes & Noble's website and decided to see what books were listed as comparable to the "Tempest" books and among those listed was Of Poseidon by Anna Banks.

     Now, let's of course start by judging the book by it's cover. I will admit that the cover contributed to what sold me on purchasing this book. Not only is the font charming (and metallic in person, so it catches the eye) but you can't help but think that the image of the woman floating up through the water is remarkable - the contrast is just too cool. When I was younger I used to play in the swimming pool and pretend I was a mermaid, swimming to the surface with my back arched and hair flowing majestically behind me, and although I know now that I certainly didn't, when I was little I pictured myself looking just like the girl on the cover of the book (minus the long gown and plus a brightly colored tail). The back cover is pretty cool too, continuing with the ocean background and complete with a bunch of bubbles and a quote from the book:
                       "And then I feel it. It saturates the water around me, thrumming without rhythm.
                        The pulse. Someone is close. Someone I don't recognize. Slowly, I tiptoe 
                        backward, careful not to splash or slosh. After a few seconds, Tiptoeing doesn't 
                        make a whole lot of sense. If I can sense them, they can sense me. The pulse is 
                        getting stronger. They're heading straight toward me. Fast."

The actual hard cover of the book is just a dark teal, reminiscent of the color of the ocean, of course, and then the spine has the title, author, and publisher in a metallic silver font. Since I know that not all readers look for aesthetic pleasure like me, I'll move on to content finally.

      I read through this book pretty quickly, which was half due to me having nothing to due over winter break and half due to my interest in the book. I read the first few chapters of the book back at school and then finals crept closer and I didn't have enough time to dedicate to reading for pleasure so I just dreamt about reading the rest of the book until I was back home. I was really glad to be able to pick it up again, and the first half or two thirds of the book really got me going. But, I have to say towards the end of the book I wasn't enjoying it as much. I was under the impression that this book was not part of a series or going to have a sequel or anything, so as we got towards the last 100 pages and there wasn't anything developing forward to the point where I felt like the plot could end soon. But as I neared the very end of the book, I realized that there has to be at least one other book to complete this story because Anna Banks purposely left us with a complete mystery and a cliff hanger leading to a whole other section of the plot. It was a pretty quick read so let me go ahead and summarize for you the plot that I keep referring to.
   
      Of Poseidon is a story about a teenager named Emma who, through heart-breaking loss and a ton of embarrassment/blushing discovers the world of the Syrena (not mermaids, they don't like the word mermaids). She finds that she, too, has secrets of her own and that everyone around her may not really be what they seem. She learns to love, overcome fears, how to become a woman, and how to grow into herself (even when she's not quite who she always thought she was). It's a cute story and if you are looking for part adventure, part romance, part history, & part humor, then this will be a satisfying book for you. There isn't a lot of action, not a lot of suspense, and only a teeny bit of mystery. But if you like "short and sweet" with all of the components I mentioned before, then you would probably enjoy this book. If you enjoyed reading the "Tempest" series you really would most likely enjoy this book too - Barnes & Noble knows what it's talking about! It wasn't one of my favorites, but I don't regret reading it at all, and since my curiosity can't handle not knowing the ending to the plot I will probably be on the lookout for the sequel.

      If you have any specific questions or a question about an aspect I didn't cover, feel free to ask, but my bottom line is: I give it a thumbs up! If you've been wondering about this book or searching for a new book, I hope this helped!



                               Sincerely,

              Spenser Lee & Simply Lovely Lit
   
           

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers REVIEW

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin Series #1)

Author: Robin LaFevers

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Publication Date: 2012

     Since reading The Hunger Games series in February, I've really been into reading books that star a kick-ass female protagonist who makreaes me wish I could live a few days in her shoes or just escape into the world that she lives in for a little while as a spectator. In this book, Ismae is our leading lady, and she lives in the European country of Brittany in the 1400s. I've always had a thing for the Medieval and Renaissance periods, so when I flipped to the first page of text and saw that the date read "1485" I was really excited to see what historical aspects were incorporated into the story. I love books with a real historical basis, because since it's based on truth I feel like it makes the story that much more significant to me knowing some of these people were living, breathing individuals dealing with decisions and obstacles that I am so enthralled with now in 2012. But anyway, before I get more into the wonderful literary aspects of the book, I want to talk about the esthetics because I am the kind of reader who does judge a book by it's cover.

    The cover of the book is really well done, complete with the quote "Why be the sheep when you can be the wolf?" I love the quote, and the spine of the book has a little wolf image on it which I thought was cool/cute. The actual hard cover is your run-of-the-mill black cover with gold writing on the spine. I tend to like when a symbol of some sort is placed on the front of the hard cover to give it some mystery and prettiness, but it's really not that big of a deal. Past the publication and dedication pages, there is a map of the parts of Europe in which the story takes place, which I always love to see in books so that I can go back and re-trace the character's journey. Past the map is a dramatis personae, which I also loved because I love the theater and plays and there were a few allusions I picked up on that hinted at the theater, and some of the interactions between characters are deceitful and false as if it were "all just a ruse or a play."

   Now, let's get down to the nitty-gritty of it all. It's a good book. I didn't really feel like it was slow at all in the beginning (which I feel with most books that I read and end up loving), and I finished the book really quickly because I couldn't bring myself to put it down even though it's a huge book and my hands aren't big enough to easily hold it open for hours! The story of Ismae is empowering and touching, and you really can't help but root for her through the whole book. You quickly find yourself thinking about the other characters as she would, and sometimes I even found myself reading some of the things she said out loud (as embarrassing as that is) as if I were reading her lines in a show. You also learn to love Anne, the Duchess, who is actually a real historical figure that had a life just how it is described in the book. Other characters you're introduced to don't really exist historically, but after reading this book it's really hard to believe they didn't. 

   This book has a little of everything. Action (tons of it). Love. True Friendship. Faith. Death. Sorrow. Joy. And, since the book is the first in a trilogy it certainly leaves you wanting more, but the ending is not one of those heart-wrenching cliff hangers that you want to re-read over and over because you can't buy the next book until next  year! If you find yourself reading dystopian books similar to the Hunger Games, there's a good chance you'll like this book, but the books have very different plots, Ismae and Katniss are definitely not comparable, and the time period is in the past - not the future so they can only be so much in common. 

   If you have any specific questions or a question about an aspect I didn't cover, feel free to ask, but my bottom line is: read it. It's worth it! If you've been wondering about this book or searching for a new book, I hope this helped!

                             Sincerely,

                     

                  Spenser Lee & Simply Lovely Lit