Book Review: Matched

Title: Matched (Matched Trilogy #1)
Author: Ally Condie
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, Nov 2012
Number of Pages: Hardcover, 369 Pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Teen

Plot:  
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.(Goodreads.com)

Personal Thoughts: I'd read a LOT of reviews on this book before I picked it up and even read some that related this book to The Giver by Lois Lowry (which is one of my favorite novels from high school). I agree that it can be related to in certain ways, but I liked Oria on it's own and it took me a few chapters to get used to this new society and how things worked.

Cassia is a typical teenager who looks forward to all that her life in this odd society can allow her to have - a match, a job and a family. What's odd is that it doesn't exactly turn out the way you'd think when she gets home from her Match Ceremony. A second boy appears on her screen, a boy who's status in the society means that he isn't able to be matched with a girl. She gets curious anyways and starts to build a relationship with this boy, known as Ky. Even though her match was actually her best friend in the whole world, Xander.

It's a compelling story of rebellion and love and learning how to make your own decisions and how to follow or not follow the rules. It's an interesting story with an amazing cast of characters. But I will warn you, I was in tears by the last chapter of this book! I won't tell you why, but my heart was breaking and I'm ready to read book two to find out what happens! (: 






Recommended Age Level: 13+

Rating: 4 out of 5
Reviews/Awards:

Teen Buckeye Book Award 2012
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2011
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books of the Year for Fiction 2010
Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee 2013

Our Family is Expanding by 2 (Baby) Feet!

Just before Christmas we discovered that I was expecting another baby.

I was most excited to find out early so that we could surprise and share this wonderful news with our families. It was so fun to create cards for both sets of Grandparents from Ryan stating that next year they would be buying gifts for two, and that he was going to be a big brother. Everyone is super excited and looking forward to these new changes in our lives. Well, everyone except maybe Ryan.

He still doesn't understand exactly what is going on, when I mention that there is a baby in my tummy, he lifts my shirt to take a look. It's funny, but I hope with time he understands a little better. I'm not sure how he will adjust to a new baby in the house, but I know that eventually when he gets used to it, he will be a great big brother!

Last friday was my first prenatal appointment for this baby, and everything looked good. We got to see him/her on the ultrasound and they took a ton of blood to run all those fancy tests... we also got to hear the heartbeat, at 176. Sounded so sweet and so healthy. It's finally setting in that I'm doing this again and I'm a lot more excited and a lot less nervous this time around. I feel a lot more relaxed and super thankful that I don't have to deal with a job, a toddler and being sick! (:

Ryan with the first photo of his baby brother or baby sister!

Book Review: Beautiful Darkness

Title: Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2)
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little Brown & Company, Oct 2010
Number of Pages: Hardcover, 503 Pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Magic, Witches, Urban Fantasy


Plot:  
Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.(Goodreads.com)

Personal Thoughts: Okay, I LOVED book one, but book two took me by surprise and was so much more action packed!! One of my favorite things is that Gatlin and the tunnels under it all seem to be their own characters and are just as important as the people themselves. In this book we get a lot more history about Ethan's family and how they are involved in the Caster world. Also, we meet a new keeper in training.

I loved how much deeper the plot got in this book, instead of starting off slow like book one it just dropped me back into the world of Gatlin and I fell in love with this town all over again! I can't wait for the movie next month, and I also look forward to reading book three! (:


Recommended Age Level: 13+

Rating: 5 out of 5
Reviews/Awards: