Useless Personal Effects

Personal Effects: Dark Art
by: J.C. Hutchins

                Personal Effects follows the extensive notes of therapist Zach Taylor’s investigation into the life and madness of Martin Grace, an accused serial killer who claims to have foreseen, but not caused, his victims’ deaths. Zach’s investigations start with interviews and art sessions, but then take him far from the hospital grounds—and often very far from the reality that we know.

The items among Grace’s personal effects are the keys to understanding his haunted past, and finding the terrifying truth Grace hoped to keep buried:

• Call the phone numbers: you’ll get a character’s voicemail.

• Google the characters and institutions in the text: you’ll find real websites

• Examine the art and other printed artifacts included inside the cover: if you pay attention, you’ll find more information than the characters themselves discover Personal Effects, the ultimate in voyeuristic storytelling, represents a revolutionary step forward in changing the way people interact with novels.

Bleh. I thought this book was going to be so awesome.  Inside the cover there is a pocket full of police reports, death certificates, driver license, creepy photos that have the eyes of people scribbled out and a bunch more stuff.  I thought since this was suppose to be an interactive book that I would be able to INTERACT with them.  Maybe use them to help solve a mystery of some sort.  Instead all I did was quickly glance at them and toss them aside.  Basically there is no point in all that crap being in there.  Sure it's cool that you can call the number on the cover and get Zach's voicemail, or check out the websites, but honestly what's the point?  

And as far as the story goes it was mediocre at best.  Most of the time I found myself skimming through the pages, rolling my eyes at the stupid dialogue between Zach and his brother or Zach and his girl friend Rachel.  I mean come on!  They call each other "geek goddess" and "hottie artist" Gag! Boo! Hiss! Who does that?!  Nicknames are suppose to be short and sweet, not long and laughably stupid!

I wish Martin Grace had more screen time.  At least he was somewhat interesting with his self-imposed blindness. But no, he gets like...12 pages. Lame.

So while this book had a cool concept with all the extras you get to look at and explore, it all fell flat for me.   Yadda yadda yadda.  The end.

The Devouring

The Devouring
by: Simon Holt

THE VOURS: Evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the winter solstice.

When Reggie reads about the Vours in a mysterious old journal, she assumes they are just the musings of an anonymous lunatic. But when her little brother, Henry, begins to act strangely, it's clear that these creatures exist beyond a madwoman's imagination, and Reggie finds out what happens when fears come to life.

To save the people she loves, Reggie must learn to survive in a world of nightmares. Can she devour her own fears before they devour her?

The Devouring is an engrossing tale of terror that will have you wondering: what if your worst fears became your living nightmare

Ooh yeah first book review of 2011! Woohoo!!  Are you excited?!  You should be!! Because this year I am starting things off right! I have had this book sitting on my shelf siiiince...hmm  probably since it came out in 2008.  I am so sorry Devouring!  Will you ever forgive me for leaving you on the shelf so long? Eh? What's that?  You're going to send the Vours to devour my soul?  NoOOooOOOoooO!!!   jerk!

The Devouring is one dark little book!  And it's all about conquering your fears.  I really liked Reggie as a character and loved her obsession with all things horror.  Kind of reminds me of a friend I have who also kind of thinks similar.  If you fear something, you should face it head on, it gives you practice to not be scared anymore.  This is what I loved about the book.  Reggie had a lot of things she was fearful of.  The real reason her mother left, the possibility of losing her brother Henry, and spiders.  But discovering the Vours, creepy smoke like creatures who make you experience your deepest fears, makes Reggie run straight in to her fears head first, if she wants to get out alive and save those she loves the most.

A truly gruesome tale with some disturbing images and one creepy little brother.
I'm looking forward to reading the next two in the series: Soulstice and Fearscape!

Hex Hall

I did it!  I finally got around to reading this book!  Huzzaaahh!!!  Except that now I'm all sad that I have to wait till February? March?  for the second book to come out. DAMN!

Hex Hall
by: Rachel Hawkins

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

This book was outstanding!  I'm going to put this book up in my top favorite reads of the year.  It has been a really painful reading year for me lol!  It's a quick read too, read it in one sitting.

What made this book so great for me was the fact that I was not annoyed by anything.  Probably a first for me as I get annoyed very easily.  Sophie is now my new favorite leading lady.  She's got a great personality and I just loved her voice.

I also loved the fact that there was no stupid love triangle, no sudden declarations of love that had been pulled out of the characters asses and no dumb as a box of rocks heroine.  Sure some of the plot lines were a bit cliche, like Sophie being in a boarding school, having a crush on the hottest guy in the school, and her only friend being the social outcast vampire and it seems like your run of the mill YA book all over again.  But you would be wrong of course.

Blah bitty blah, don't be like me and procrastinate to read this, pick it up now and wait in agony with me till the next one comes out. RAH!

WilloooOoOoW

Willow
By: Julia Hoban


Seven months ago, on a rainy March night, sixteen year- old Willow’s parents died in a horrible car accident. Willow was driving. Now her older brother barely speaks to her, her new classmates know her as the killer orphan girl, and Willow is blocking the pain by secretly cutting herself. But when one boy—one sensitive, soulful boy—discovers Willow’s secret, it sparks an intense relationship that turns the “safe” world Willow has created for herself upside down. 
Told in an extraordinary fresh voice, Willow is an unforgettable novel about one girl’s struggle to cope with tragedy, and one boy’s refusal to give up on her.










WilloOOooOw  WilloOooOOOoOw!  Sorry I had to get that out.  Everytime I read her name that's how I said it in my head  lol!

But in all seriousness this book deals with some tough issues besides the cutting part of it.  In all honesty I don't really know how to review this book.  I liked it.  I liked Willow and her voice, but sometimes I really just wanted to shake her to make her see things in a different way.  For example Willow feels that her brother does not love her anymore because she thinks that he believes that it is her fault their parents died.  All these misunderstandings could have been solved if they would have just talked to each other!  Communication is KEY!

Luckily Willow finds Guy.  Let's just put it this way; Guy is amazing.  In fact, it sort of bothered me just how perfect he was.  So understanding, so willing to listen.....maybe I'm a bit jealous?  Yeah probably  :D  In Guy, Willow finds the communication she so desperately seeks, even if it means bringing down some of the walls she built up to keep her emotions out.  In Guy she also finds someone who accepts her for everything she is, cutting included. And no, I'm not saying that he thinks it's ok that she cuts, or even really understands it, but he does his best to find out exactly why she does it and does try to get her to stop.

Willow was a depressing, interesting, moving, story about a girl trying to accept what her life has become.  A sweet tale of love and loss that sometimes got annoying because Guy was so perfect and Willow just couldn't get it together to communicate with her brother.  HA!

This book might not be for everyone but you should definitely check it out!

But what you should really REALLY check out is my GIVEAWAY!  DO IT!  <3

The one with the stairs

This was a stupid book about absolutely nothing.  I am very saddened that I took the time to read it.  Aurora Teagarden was boring and not all that likeable. She mostly just thinks a lot and says "I did this"  "I thought that" "I am so boring please do not finish this book"  Fine, Fine she didn't say that, but I wish she had so that I wouldn't have finished this god awful book.  Oh and of course there is miraculously two men who are interested in her at the same time. Go figure.


The most interesting thing Aurora did was find different and interesting ways to go up and down the stairs.

She bounded!

She trudged!

She padded!

I'll be honest and say that I don't really know how one "pads" up or down a set of stairs so I just put pads on her hands and feet.

Isn't Aurora interesting?!

No?

I didn't think so either.  :-/

I think I'l go watch season two of BUFFY!