Angel by James Patterson reviewed by Alyson Green
“Angel” by James Patterson
From Goodreads.com:
“Maximum Ride and her friends have always had each other’s backs because they can’t trust anyone else. No. Matter. What. But now the flock is up against a threat unlike any they’ve ever faced. Just when they need each other the most, Fang is gone. He’s creating his own gang that will replace everyone—including Max.”
In this novel “Angel” I found out how much friendship really means. I haven’t always stopped to think about how much one person could mean to myself or who would fight for me like the characters in this novel did. It really opened up my eyes and I’ll be thinking differently of people. The way that Max risked her life multiple times is one of the few reason I truly enjoyed this novel. I enjoyed the wonderful setting, theme, and plot of this novel the most and I highly encourage anyone into supernatural books to have a read!
The astounding setting in this book really knocked me off my feet. I couldn’t believe the amazing detail it gave in each place the flock went. When the birdlike people flew in the air it told in mesmerizing detail on how they were two thousand feet in the air and how magnificent the view was looking down on Paris. I could feel the wind in my hair and the coldness on my cheeks while reading about how fast Max had to fly through the tunnel to save all of the world. I feel like the writer of this novel has definitely been in intense situations to have written some such as these in such intense places. The overall setting of the book was fantastic!
While I very much enjoyed the setting of this book the theme really took me buy surprise! I started reading this novel thinking that it would be about a girl who falls madly in love and has a wonderful life. However I could not have been more wrong. The book had a theme of an apocalypse and not the “zombie” kind. When reading it I found out the theme is more of a love story than anything else. Max and Fang struggle with each other while also saving the world and it is all very sweet. Though you have to think there can only be so much romance while trying to deactivate a bomb set off to kill the whole world. I really think the theme overall was to show you have to put your own feeling in front of others, because in the end you are all you can trust.
My personal favorite part of this book has to be the plot. The plot goes into such amazing detail on how each person or bird in this case feels. It tells that Max and Dylan don’t really need to be programmed to love each other. It also tells how Angel really does know what is going to happen and when you look back on it she really does try in everyway possible to keep everyone else safe. Which I think is a very big thing for a seven year-old to do! I am amazed at how much time there was put in to telling who can do what. When the world was coming to and end and all the gang members from each side had to work together they used each of there strengths to there ability. I think that the plot was very well written and detailed.
In conclusion to this book the setting, them, and plot really supirsed me in a wonderful way and I plan on reading James Patterson’s other novels. I recommend this book to anyone who is into supernatural novel’s and any teenager who is going through a time of feeling faced with a tough decision of any kind. I very much enjoyed this novel.
Marked by P.C. Cast reviewed by Alyson Green
Marked by P.C. Cast
From Goodreads.com:
“ The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird’s world, vampyres have always existed. In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire — that is, if she makes it through the Change. Not all of those who are chosen do. It’s tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny–with a little help from her new vampyre friends.”
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to become a vampyre? Zoey never thought that she would wake up one morning with a mark on her head not only identifying her as a vampyre but changing her entire life for the better but she did. In the book Marked by P.C. Cast Zoey’s whole world is changed upside and totally twisted. She becomes a vampyre and if that isn’t enough she becomes one of the most powerful ones! Although getting there was not easy Zoey made a lot of great memories and friends through the journey. Something she will never forget! I hope that every one who reads this book enjoys the setting, theme, and plot as much as I did! They’re so many different experiences in this book that I totally suggest to any reader who is interested in a creepy “ on edge” book.
The setting in this particular book was very mysterious. Zoey went to school feeling very ill one morning. Thinking she was only sick was a big mistake. What was actually wrong was that Zoey had been marked and was now in training to become a vampyre. This means Zoey had to pack up and go to the House Of Nights. The House Of Nights is a very creepy and scary place for any human. Although for vampyres it was home and that was where Zoey’s new home was. Zoey went to many school events. She went to a ritual held by Nxy her mentor. The ritual was held in a dark room that was only lit by candles. The room was very smokey and smelled of four different elements, earth, fire, water, and spirit. Zoey went to several of these rituals and enjoyed them very much. I think the setting is very much intriguing and scary.
Although I thought the setting was great I really thought the theme was spectacular. The story revealed that what goes around comes around and that Zoey was good and good things happened to her. Although this doe not mean she didn’t have to work for them because she surely did! So many problems got in her way. A horrid vampyre girl named Aphrodite who wanted nothing more than to be the next High Priestess of the Dark Daughters group. Aphrodite tried everything in her power to get Zoey to feel unwelcome. As much as she tried though Zoey ended up becoming High Priestess and stealing Aphrodite’s ex-boyfriend. I think the theme taught us to always do good and good things will happen. I really enjoyed the theme to this book.
Like most books I read the plot sticks out the most to me. I think that in this book the main problem is that Aphrodite want’s all of the power and Nxy is making sure that Zoey is the one who gets it. I think the reason being is because Zoey is from a long line of Cherokee women who have done this for many generations. Aphrodite is a selfish person who only thinks of herself and that is not what the vampyres need in a leader! Nxy made a great decision by giving Zoey all the power. Zoey really proves she is worthy of this power when she casts a spell and makes all of the bad demons go away at a ritual. By doing this she saved her ex- boyfriend and her new friend. Nyx saw this and granted her the honor of being High Priestess. I think the plot is astounding.
Finally I conclude this review by saying this book was amazing. I think that anyone who likes creepy book that have a lot of detail should read this. I think this book is best for older teenagers that have a thing for vampyres. The book is a lot better if the reader believes in vampyres! I believe that any reader will enjoy the setting, theme, and plot as much as I did.
Pretty Little Devils by Nancy Holder
Pretty Little Devils by Nancy Holder
From Goodreads.com:
“Hazel Stone wants nothing more than to be a part of the hottest clique in school, the Pretty Little Devils. When PLD queen bee Sylvia invites Hazel to one of the group’s famous soirees, Hazel is thrilled–but popularity comes with a price.”
Who doesn’t want to be popular? I mean come on admit it you crave to fit in. It’s human nature to want people to like you. I know I do. In this story Pretty Little Devils by Nancy Holder Hazel Stone feels the same way. She thrives to be in the popular club PLD’s ( Pretty Little Devils). When she finally gets welcomed in to there group she finds out that being popular comes with a price. In the story there are so many things that catch your eye. My most favorite parts are the characters, setting, and theme.
The characters in this book are wonderfully intriguing. They always leave you wanting more. There is a group called Pretty Little Devils who run the halls of Brookhaven High. Pretty Little Devils consisted of Sylvia, Carolyn, Ellen, Megan, and finally Hazel. Hazel use to hang out with Lakshmi. Lakshmi was a very unpopular girl who hung out with very unpopular people. So when Hazel finally got accepted into the PLD’s she moved on to bigger better things. Hazel got the hottest guy in school, Matty Vardeman. Matty was on the football team and was good friends with Josh and Stephan who had a great interest in Sylvia and Ellen. The PLD’s were despised as much as they were loved so of course they have rivals. The head cheerleader Breona Wu and her posy. Sylvia and Breona never got along in this book that’s why I find the characters so intriguing, because even though they don’t get along they are so much alike.
The setting in this book is very interesting. The most popular girls in school are the PLD’s and they rule Brookhaven High. The girls are very crazy but also very tamed. Making sure to always clean up there tracks at any event they held at a babysitting gig or any place they have been that they may not have needed to be. All five girls in the group are very clever and always have each others back. They can tell the tone of one another by only a text. This is very interesting because the setting is spread out so much but the girls seem to always stay together.
Finally the theme of this book is insane. The conflict is so unreal. How someone thought of the plot is beyond me. The problem in this story is that someone throughout the whole book wants to hurt the group. Nobody knows why and knows who. The stalker sends threatening texts to the girls to scare them away from each other. They always stay together though. Until the very end when eventually things get taken to serious and Megan gets killed. That is when finally the girls explode and blame the whole thing on Sylvia. The whole them has a very great ending and is so crazy!
In conclusion I think that this book is very mysterious and full of good things to keep you as a reader on your feet. I would recommend this book to any teen or anyone who likes a mystery book. This is a book that really kept me on edge and I think that anyone will like it. The characters, theme, and settings are all a very big part in this book and it something I definitely don’t regret reading.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
From Goodreads:
Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won’t talk to her, and people she doesn’t even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that’s not safe. Because there’s something she’s trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.
Have you ever been an outcast? Have you ever been so hated that your best friends act like they don’t even know you? Melinda Sordino feels like this very often in Laurie Halse Anderson’s book Speak. The book tells a lot about how Melinda struggles just to live everyday. Melinda has no friends and no family she can count on. Her life is very difficult and you can tell throughout the book how she deals with it. While I very much enjoyed the whole novel the setting, plot, and theme stuck out the most to me.
I enjoyed how up to date the setting was presented in this book. It mostly took place in a high school. I thought that was so great because it grabs a lot of teenage reader attention. We like to read things that are about our own life or related to it in any way. Whenever Melinda is at school she gets bullied. People who don’t even know her hate her for a distance. She gets talked about by everyone all because she made one mistake that was actually a huge misunderstanding. After a awful day at school of being humiliated Melinda has to go home to a very destroyed family. Melinda’s mother works too much and her father drinks too much so she never gets attention at home. The only place Melinda feels safe is in an old, smelly, dingy, vacant janitors closet. For me the various setting kept me interested and intrigued in the book.
The plot to the book is very different than any other I have read. In the beginning of the book Melinda faces all of her ex- best friends. We as readers don’t know why she know longer has any friends. Though it continues to tell us later on that everyone holds her responsible for ruining a end-of-the-summer party. We also learn that a bad thing happened to her at the party, and that’s why she called the police. She is deeply conflicted on whether or not to talk about it or not. She may be able to forget about the conflict but the conflict goes to her school. His name is Andy Evans and he is the one who violated Melinda at the party. She soon faces Andy at school where he traps her and abuses her in various ways. We don’t learn what happens to Andy, but the secret is out, and he’s hopefully in the hands of the police now. On the last day of school, Melinda sees a different side of Merryweather High, a side of Merryweather that’s on her side. Classmates express sympathy, and we learn that Rachel (her old friend) has reached out to Melinda. I personally think that the plot is astounding.
The theme really stuck out to me. There is many themes in the book. One that stuck out is how strong Melinda is throughout her high school year. Melinda nearly shuts down emotionally and shuts out her whole world not speaking to anyone. She doesn’t communicate to anyone for along while. Though she finally has gotten enough courage to talk to her teacher Mr.Freeman about it at the end. The story is feeled with sadness, despair, fear, and loneliness throughout most of the novel. It is only when Melinda finds the strength to face all of the emotions that the mood changes to one triumph and inspiration. The theme of this book is very inspiring to me.
Overall I enjoyed this book. I would really like to know what happened to Andy and if he is serving time like he should be! I recommend this book as a inspiring novel of a girk who fights her everday life with a secret and over comes the problems she faces everyday. If you are a reader who enjoys a relatable setting, plot, and theme I highly recommend that you give this book a shot!
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