Rhiannon

Juliet Immortal, is a new take on a classic piece of literature there has ever been known for over 500 years. The forbiden love, the sacrifice, the death, everyone and their grandparents knows this tale. But this novel, it begs the question: what really happened to the two love birds?

Something Stacy Jay decidely answers for her readers...

Decite, lies, heartbreak, and immortality... the ingredients that make up the backbone of the story with its main characters, Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montegue. 700 years and the two hate each other; well Juliet has a loathsome anger towards Romeo, but who can blame her. She is still made about the way she died, for how Romeo betrayed her, and the twisted way he took their suppose “love story” to Shakespeare and changed the outcome of it's original ending. Changing the beloved tale and painting it to be this heart stopping tragedy of love, is one piece of the puzzle in Juliet's anger towards Romeo.

I adore the very jouney of this tale. The backstory alone is rivetimng and left me mezmerized by the details. It even had me believing a ‘what if' scenario for the actual story that we all know and love.

Now for the chacracters...

Juliet Capulet, everyone knows her; everyone loves her. Yet does anyone truly know this protagonist? That's what the story does, makes the reader really question the original story. I do have to say though that I enjoyed how it played out for Juliet. It was a little insane at first, the way it flooded in the emotions of Romeo with Juliet, but it worked. It had me hooked on her side of the story.

Now as for Romeo Montague, a real antagonist for the story. You just wanted to dispise this fellow and his ways. But then as I read further, I started to realize Romeo's motives and his side of the story every so often. It really made me understand the level of anger and such from this young man.

Then we have Ariel Dragland, who is a timid girl. 75% of her life, she has lived feeling like a freak show due to her face having scar tissue from being burned as a little girl. Then one day everything changes Juliet's soul takes over Ariel's body and finds a way to mend fences with Ariel's friends and family. She also helps Ariel learn to stand up for herself and fall in love too.

Beyond the characters, the details of the landscape and the atmosphere that Stacey Jay had written was superb! I loved every ounce of it and made it feel more real. I could picture the old world of Italy and the delicacies of it's time.

But besides all the historial aspects of the story and the love struck teens, it's truly a great piece of literature that really puts a new spin on the classic tale. I recomment this book to anyone that wishes to read about the timeless piece but in a modern way that is sure to make the reader wonder, “Hmmm, did this happen? Could it happen? I wonder...”

Okay so this novel isn't for everyone, especially for those that like a novel to stick to a normal routine of telling a story from beginning to end. This does that, but with a handful or your own that you can choose instead. The reason for that is there are 150 endings to choose from in the book!

Growing up I was into the Goosepbump books that let you choose your story. Not only was I totally into those covers (they were pretty awesome for Goosebump books!), but I loved changing the story into something more interesting. I was the kid that would mark my page if there were two choices and then go back to it if the one ended too quickly or was too insane for me.

I still did that with this novel. It has some grown-up themes to it, so maybe this wouldn't be a good book for those under the age of 15 (i.e. - sex, drugs, and a few other descriptive things that most YA books don't have!).

Anyway, the book starts off with you either choosing to go to college or off traveling. From there depending on which choice you make you can either go into an art program or science program or travel to europe and have your life changed. Along the way things get more complicated and life gets a little too real for the choices you make or just a little crazy, because let's face it, it's fiction, but still really interesting fiction.

I've gotten to read about 20 or more different endings so far, but all of which have been really interesting. I've died a handful, been shot, grown old and happy, grown old and sad, fall in love, been cheated on by men, been discovered, became famous, made my parents proud or shamed them, lived out my dreams, made miserable choices, and still trying to get to every ending!

No two endings are the same. And that's what I love the most. It makes you wonder, “what if I choose to fly to...?” or “should I have gone to that show with...?” or even “was that a really big mistake to...?”

This book I think is for those that get frustrated when books don't go the way they like it and wish they could have chosen something else or are the types always wondering “what if...?” about their own life in general.

Where do I start... I guess it would be that it took me over 7 months to finish this one. It was one of those books that I started reading, then put it down and didn't pick up till sometime late 2007, early 2008. But I flew through it like a race horse. Reasons being was that I could at that point in my life put myself in Bella's shoes, having to deal with my own horrible heart break that resembled her's as well. He may have not been a vampire, but none the less it was a pretty big deal.

I think being able to connect to her more in this book, than in ‘Twilight' was crucial. The 1st book in a series always is a make or break, but the sophomore year (ie - the 2nd book) can lift the book higher into the stratosphere or send it into a black hole of shame. New Moon didn't, but it didn't do the same as the first book either. This can happen, but I think it had to do more so with how well a reader could relate to the story and the characters.

Overall, it was a great read. I wouldn't call it my favorite, but I wouldn't shove it away in a box just yet. It does look pretty on my book shelf :)

The story of a young girl set 20-21 years from now in the future after a plague, riding on the hopes for a better life, is a little orphan annie meets I Am Legend.

Eve has been sheltered her entire life, away from all the males of the world and only a distant memory or her mother when everything was ending. Her need to survive is tested by nature and its elements, but mostly by one boy who proves to her that what she learned isn't 100% correct.

The protagonist is sort of a meek girl in the beginning. She has never seen water outside of a faucet/shower, let alone been outside the walls of her school. The girl is forced to make a choice when she discovers the truth about what really happens after they graduate. This is where the real story begins for Eve, out in New America, located on the west coast.

When Eve meets Caleb, it changes everything. She learns how to swim and how to use a weapon. She learns what love is beyond the love of a parent. It takes time, but Caleb is her saving grace in all of this hellish world. Some would think he holds her back, but I believe he helps her push forward for a better tomorrow for all the children in peril. As for Arden, the girl who went to school with Eve, she pushes Eve's buttons in ways that wakes her up and forces her to make choices. Some of which are life altering. This character is truly stone cold outside exterior, while when you get to the heart of her, is really just a sad little girl who feels all alone. Eve is the only one so far to break through to her.

As for the darker side of the story, the character Lief is a prime example of what I despise in men: ruthless, misogynist, assaulting, teenage boy. He didn't like nor understood women, let alone tried to rape Eve after a night of drinking. Situations like that are scary and do happen to women, 90% know their attacker. So to add that realism to the book is a wake-up call for the heroine. Another set of characters I do not enjoy was the King and all the soldiers that roamed the land. The king alone was a pain in my bum! He had such devilish ideas for the women and in how to rebuild society. People like that tend to be dripping with power and abuse it in horrid ways that makes your skin crawl!

Anyway, it was interesting to read about the scenery that was presented in the story. The way San Francisco looked to the Golden Gate Bridge, was eery in many ways. It was as though you could drop a pin and hear it a mile away from the absolute quiet that swept the city.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. I'm very excited to read the sequel Once and see what happens to the lovely Eve and her beloved Caleb as they overcome their biggest hurdles yet.

Matched is about a young girl named Cassia who is just 17 years old. Her world is set in a distant future, hundreds of years after the collapse of our own current world (a lot of natural destruction causes with man-made problems) where everything is based on statistics and probabilities with everyone in society. She has lived in the same place all her life and has lived next door to her best friend Xander since they were babies.

Cassia is super excited to be Matched, to have her partner for life picked out by what society believes is the best choice for her based on the data they have of her. But something goes wrong on the microcard she receives: it shows another face, a boy she knows; Ky. As time goes on, she starts to question the whole system and slowly begins to rebel. Her official notices this and things start to get complicated for her and her family. The question remains, what is Cassia willing to do for love?

I didn't fall in love with the book, but I did adore it to the point of thinking it's better than some books I've had to read. I think my issue was how the first few chapters started out. Once you get past the fifth chapter things start sailing a little more smooth. I do remember seeing this book on Amazon back in Early 2010 and thinking: “I love the synopses and I LOVE that book cover! I will have to own this book at some point...“

There is something compelling once I got to the very last 10 chapters of the story. Ally Condie did such an amazing job that I now want to read ‘Crossed'. I do love how dedicated Cassia is and how she has that same passio as her father. It really felt good seeing such a connection of a father-daughter have. My favorite character of all was: the grandfather. He had such wit and spunk for being an 80 year old man! He was also very wise and caring too. You could see that in Cassia throughout the novel.

I would most certainly recommend this book to people who like a character that isn't afraid to take risks, even for love. Most likely a good read for those that need something different. I don't think anyone would like this if they compare it to other books of the same dystrophia genre, because there are things in it that I haven't seen in other books.

In conclusion, Matched was a great book. It left me wanting more once I got to those last few chapters and I want to know what happens to Cassia, Ky, Xander, and her entire family in the sequel.