Suck It Up and Die by Brian Meehl

I got this book thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's Books. It's been a while since I read the first one, Suck it Up. That I read for a possible book on the Gateway or Truman book list a couple years ago. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't one of my top picks that year, I think that was the year of The Hunger Games and Gone by Michael Grant, that really drew my attention. But this wasn't a bad book, in a way, similar to the Vlad Tod series by Heather Brewer in that it was a main character of a boy vampire. In this book it is two years after our main character, Morning McCobb has come out as the "poster boy" for vampires that want to be accepted into society, same rights, etc., and they promise they won't drink human blood. Only a blood substitute. That part of course always reminded me a bit of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. The book started out kind of slow for me because it seemed everything was going along just as it was supposed to, no problems to overcome. Kind of how I always figured that whenever I'd wished a book went on, how it would have gone on without any big dangers or plot points to fight. But then we got a new villain, well, sort of a new one. He was created in the forest where all the vampires go when they die. And he joins forces with a human who is the head of a group of people that don't want vampires to live along humans.

Well, soon we learn that when a vampire is actually satisfied and realizing the thing they wanted most in their human lives, well, that causes an interesting change. And Morning begins to get framed by the pair of villians in the public eye. I feel this was definitely a good sequel to the first. I know the first one left off in a way that I knew there had to be a sequel, and this did explain a lot, and kept the series going. Not sure if this one leaves off for another in the series, but it's probably a good chance that it will.
I will count this one as my "U" for the A-Z Reading Challenge for the "Up" in the title.

2011 Debut Author Challenge 12: Dark Parties by Sara Grant

Dark Parties by Sara Grant

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The main character of this book is Neva, and she is 16. She has lived her whole life under the Protectosphere, and feels like she is trapped. Part of the feeling comes from what her grandmother used to tell her, at least before her grandmother disappeared, and even her parents acted like her grandmother never existed. Supposedly their was nuclear war outside of this dome, and so by staying inside they are protected from the wastelands and chemicals. But to Neva and her friends, it is like a prison. So Neva and her friend Sanna plan a "dark party" to recruit their friends to do some rebellious stuff. But through this more people will disappear, and they will soon learn where their loyalties are, and if they government is really lying, and if they are, what they will do to keep their secrets and order.

I did enjoy this book, it is another in what seems to be a growing list of dystopian novels that I'm reading lately. It had some of the same elements as several that I've read though. First it had what I would call a dome called a Protectosphere over this city, state, country, not sure from the book itself, and that made me think of the Goneseries by Michael Grant. Next there were issues with reproduction it seems, or not issues exactly, but the government was trying to control it, and that reminded me of several books: Wither, XVI, and a little bit of Delirium. I liked the name of the book, although it seemed that the only mention of "dark parties" was at the very beginning of the book, and then we never really saw anything like that again. There were several things left unanswered, but as I assume from the way it ends that there will be a sequel, really has to be, hopefully those will be answered. I will read on as I said if there is another. And it is a good quick read if you like dystopian novels. I read this as an egalley from Hachette Book Group that I got on Netgalley.com.



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Plague by Michael Grant

This is the fourth book in the Gone series by Michael Grant, which I was introduced to last year when I was a reader selector for the Truman books. This is a really great series, and this last book I think was one of the best ones. The town is still kind of trying to keep going. You've got the "bad" guy Caine, out on the island that was once owned by a Hollywood couple that I guess were modeled on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. He's living there with Dianna, who decides that she wants to just stay there and try to live as normal a life as possible. They have electricity, a little, they have food, and no one else to eat it all. Sam is leader, but not really. Albert has kind of taken over, he is running all the business and so people now look to him to take care of them. Well, he is finding that they are probably going to run out of fresh water soon, so he sends Sam and Dekka and Jack out to find the water at a lake. While there they find another mutant named Toto who has been alone at the military base all this time. Toto's power is telling if someone is telling the truth or think they are telling the truth at least. This comes in handy when Albert decides to bring Caine back to save them from these horrible bug creatures now out to attack them. The title refers to everyone having flu, but this time is is really bad, some kids cough so hard they cough their insides out. And these bug creatures are hatching out of kids and seem to be indestructible.

You've got all your same old characters, with some kind of new ones. I loved the way you got some hope when they found the lake with the military base and some food, but then Caine and Drake come back, and hope goes away.

Lies by Michael Grant

This is the 3rd book in the Gone series by Michael Grant. In this book it seems that we may actually find out what is going on outside the dome. It seems as if the parents are outside, all the adults, and they can see inside and kind of see what is going on. One of the "mutants" inside can talk to the parents in her dreams and sees that the kids should go ahead and leave on their 15th birthday when they have the chance. But it also seems maybe that when the kids "die" inside the dome, that they end up waking up outside the dome. So, we're not left knowing after this book if that is the absolute truth or not though. We also meet some new kids who live on an island. They are supposed to be the adopted kids of a "Brangeline" modeled couple. One of Caine's crew knows about this island, and thinks there may be food on it. Well, he's right, these kids living there have a lot of food, and no one but themselves to eat it. The bad thing is, they don't know quite how bad things are being stuck on their island, and one of them is sick. So the oldest one is going to try to fly a helicopter off the island for help.

And of course, the bad guy from before, Drake, who everyone thought was gone, is back somehow, along with another dead girl. So there is another enemy. Plus the "normal" kids are fighting against the mutants, setting fires and beating them up. And we find out that maybe this is all a big "video game" going on in Astrid's little brother Pete's mind. Pete is a mentally challenged kid, autistic, and may not know what he is doing.

I think this left off for yet another book in the series. Because it didn't really end anything, and it seems that our kids still need to get out of the dome.

Book Review 18: Gone by Michael Grant

This was a really long book, took me a few days to finish all over 500 pages. The book starts out with Sam sitting in class, and his teacher just all of a sudden disappearing. Just gone. Turns out all adults and teens over 14 have disappeared. The kids are left. Sam also has a secret, he's discovered he has a power. Some kind of flashing light/flame that can create a light or take off someone's hand. Turns out there are others with powers, and some of them are up at the Coates Academy, a private school for troubled rich kids, where Sam's mother works. Turns out that it is possible that Sam's twin brother may also be at that academy. Supposedly their mom gave him up, but kept Sam. Anyway, it's a pretty good story, there's some darkness behind all this, and not only are their kids with powers, the animals seem to have evolved in strange ways as well. Flying snakes, talking coyotes. And when kids turn 15 now, they also "poof". They find a wall all around the town that burns when they touch it. Sam's friend Astrid's younger brother Pete is autistic and may have something to do with the whole mess. There's a big confrontation between Sam and his "brother" at the end, but there isn't a set solution, and it is left for at least a sequel, which we have at the store and I'll have to read after I get done with all my book lists.

The next book I started yesterday was called Shifty, by Lynn E. Hazen, and it will be my next review.

Book Review 17: The White Gates by Bonnie Ramthun

From the cover I first thought it was a skateboard, but turns out it was a snowboard. Tor is the main character, and the book begins with his mother waking him up late at night because she is the town doctor and she has an emergency to go take care of and doesn't want to leave him alone. It's Tor's first night in Colorado. The emergency is a local snowboard team member. Tor being a new kid in town gets picked on. Supposedly the town is also "cursed" and all doctors who come are never going to stay.

One thing I didn't like is that it alluded a lot to Tor's life with his father, but takes a long time to tell us why he's with his mom now instead of his dad. I almost wondered if something bad had happened to his dad and stepmom from the way it kind of sounded. But no, just his dad having twins cut into his life, and now with his mom he's getting attention. He makes friends, a Ute girl and a boy who is the son of a famous snowboarder, both kind of outcasts/loner, but everyone seems to like them. The girl is the great, great, great grandaughter of the woman who cursed the town. Tor learns to snowboard and gets picked on all throughout the book, and of course solves the mystery of the boy at the beginning's strange death before his mom gets blamed for it, and also takes care of the curse.

It wasn't too bad actually.

I'm now onto Gone by Michael Grant, which is a book I'd actually been interested in for awhile. And it has started with a bang, or you might say a poof.