Review: Team Human

Author: Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan


Genre: Mystery, Paranormal, Romance


Pages: 352


Publisher: Harper Teen


Date of Release: July 3, 2012


Rating: 6/10


Summary: Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn't mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she stays in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It's up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity!

On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.

Acclaimed authors Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan team up to create a witty and poignant story of cool vampires, warm friendships, and the changes that test the bonds of love.           -Goodreads

Review:

*WARNING*
I read this book during the summer (I know soooo long ago), so this may be not the best review I have ever had. Sorry:( This will review will be short and simple and a bit... meh. So if you have any specific questions about the book, leave a comment and I will go to the library just for you to seek the answer or something:) Did you notice my happy face and sad face are parallel to each other? ON WITH THE REVIEW!


I would like to say that I wasn't very fond of the main character, Mel. I like how she cares for her friends and just wants to help them out, but she very rash. She didn't really think about what she was doing or how her actions were hurting her friends, she kind of bulldozed through it. Like every single family member I have, they say to me, "Think before you Act." Trust me, I get that a lot. I also felt as if Mel was a bit closed-minded. I mean, c'mon... Vampires? They sparkle and are the Lion to your Lamb (Twilight reference!) Yeah, I get it that it's scary adapting to new things, but it's your BEST friend. For her, I think you should at least try to be nice.

I think Francis and Cathy are adorable! All those vampire-haters are booing right now, but those two... they are so beautiful together. Even though I find it that they their love is a bit fast-pace and Cathy has an obsession with vampires. I mean can you see this?

Me: OMG, I love vamps. They rock! I wish one went to our school...

~vampire walks in and he is *insert your dream guy/vamp here*~

Me: Omg, is that? omg, it is... omg I'm love with him

~Two days later, you and vamp-dude are in love~ 

Although, Cathy is so much better than this, this is what I saw. You never know, she wanted to meet some vampires and she got her chance, why not fall in love with him too? But who am I to judge?

Another character that I LOVE to bits and pieces was, Kit. Ahhh, Kit. The boy who was raised by humans. And Mel being a girl falls in like with his cutesy personality. But she doesn't know... that he will soon be a VAMPIRE!!!!!!!!!! *shocker* I just felt bad for Mel. Her best friend is in love with a vampire. That vampire's adopted brother wants to be a vampire and Mel is sitting there going like, "Why did the Vamps come in and destroy my life?" If I were her I would have clumps of hair beside me.

The one thing that kind of made me go 'meh' to is the plot. Or should I say plot? Because there was the problem of trying to separate Cathy and Francis (the Vampire) and then there is this totally different issue about Mel trying to solve another friend's case. The two were kind of intertwined because of Francis mother who was involved in the case. But it was too big of a storyline for my brain.

Before I forget... THIS BOOK WAS FUNNAY!!! Honestly, I could not take the smile off my face during this whole book. Except at the ending, but that's for you to read and find out. And Kit was like cracking jokes here and there. Mel was sarcastic and I actually got the jokes for once. I think I even slapped my knee* a couple of times:)

Overall, this book had great characters (even though Mel is flawed) and a okay storyline. If you want a quick, easy, laughable read this is something you need to go to the local library to check out or buy it or whatever kids do nowadays. That's funny, because I am still a kid! But I still don't know.   



"They’d never pass something like that in Maine,’ Mom said, rolling her eyes.
"Not in the vampire state."


If my mommy said that to me, I would be like, "Where is the werewolf state, I wanna see some Jacob Black in action!"

*When I refer to the "slapping of the knee" I mean that I heard, saw, read something so funny I slapped me knee. So if you said something and I slapped my knee, GOOD JOB.



                                                                    

Review: Silence (Queen of Dead #1)

Author: Michelle Sagara  


Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance


Pages: 289


Date of Release: May 1, 2012


Publisher: Penguin


Rating: 5/10


Summary: It began in the graveyard…

Ever since her boyfriend Nathan had died in a tragic accident, Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that’s all it was. For Emma, life had stopped with Nathan’s death. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there—Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death….

Emma was not quite like others teenagers. It was true that other girls had experienced grief. Other girls had also lost their fathers, or had their boyfriends die in a senseless accident. But though she hadn’t known it till that night in the graveyard, unlike those other girls, she could see, touch, and speak with the dead. In fact, Emma could draw upon the essence of the dead to work magic. That was what Necromancers did. But Emma had no desire to be a Necromancer. She just wanted to help the ghosts who walked the streets of Toronto, unable to escape from the land of the living. And that was just as well, because had she chosen the path of the Necromancer, Eric would have had to kill her.

Instead, Eric and his fellow Necromancer hunter Chase found themselves violating every rule they were sworn to follow, becoming part of Emma’s group, helping her to stand against those who preyed upon the dead. But whether Emma and her friends could survive such a battle was anyone’s guess. And whether Emma could learn to use the magic of the dead against her enemies without herself falling victim to the lure of such power remained to be seen. Eric seemed to think she could, and her living friends would never abandon her. But only time would tell what Emma’s true destiny was… -Goodreads

Review: The long summary was well written and pulled in, making you want to read it. Which is exactly what I did. Though honestly, the book was well written it was just a bit slow, boring, whatever you want to call it.

The book started off pretty good, with her grieving for her dead boyfriend and Eric showing up. But the details of Eric coming was a bit vague. I mean at the beginning, all Eric seemed to do was follow Emma around feeling guilty about having to kill her. Then Chase comes along and puts Eric back on the right road. The events following are a bit confusing.

Right now, typing this, I still don't why those four ghosts were chained up at Amy's House. They proved to have purpose to Emma after she freed them, but I never got a clear explanation about why were there. Which leads on to the woman in the mirror. Who is she? What is she? Eric seems to know her, but it isn't revealed how she will be presented in the series.

Emma is a strong character. She knows what she wants and how she is going to do it. I mean she did convince some guy not to kill her. Pretty awesome! Emma helped free a little boy's ghost from a burning house and helped his mother get over the trauma. Okay, during that part where the little boy is saying 'see you in Heaven' to his mom, I was bawling. Snots, tears the works. Let me tell you, Michelle Sagara sure knows how to write a crying scene. The little boy seemed so mature and was just so cute... in a tragic way.

To say I really enjoyed this book would be a fib. But don't knock to til you try it, eh? Haha. I will be waiting for the second book in this series and I will review it.