Review: The Game

The Details

Title: The Game

Author: Terry Schott

Genre: Science Fiction, YA

Length: 289 pages

Release Date: October 20, 2012

Medium: E-book (free from BN)

Rating: 4/5

Pace: Medium/Fast

Stand Alone or Series: Book #1 of The Game is Life series

“If you can watch someone else’s life and be drawn into it, you can escape your own for a time.”

The Goodreads Synopsis

The Game...

A virtual reality simulation played by over a billion children around the world. The best players are celebrities, adored and worshiped by countless fans. Zack is a superstar among players.

His final play may change the world, forever...

The Review

Life on earth is a game. This game replaces the government school system by simulating life. The person is given credits to spend on things like longevity, intelligence, romance, etc. The player is then put into a comatose state as they play the game unknowingly.

As one of the characters can be quoted saying, “Here's the basic idea; you log into the Game and you're born. You live your life as best you can and, when you die, you return to your real body taking the lessons you learned and the memories of the experiences you had. Many return to live multiple lifetimes, many do not. You have no memory of the real world, or at least you're not supposed to.”

I was mind-blown by many of the concepts in this book. Sometimes I questioned if Earth really could be a big game. I was inspired by the religious content throughout the book and find the take on the higher power (Mainframe) to be very interesting and scientific. There is a HUGE cliff hanger that left me distraught in ways I didn’t know could be possible reading this style of book. I didn’t know this book was a series when I started it, but when I finished at 1 a.m. I purchased the next e-book!

The Characters

Zach is a top player entering the game for his last time, hoping to come out as the top ranked avatar. I felt his character was built upon thoroughly and I enjoyed his impact on The Game.

Alex failed out of the Game and was sent to one of the few government schools. She was awarded a free Game play on the 30^th anniversary of The Game. She hopes to also come out on top and earn a living for herself after The Game. She was an interesting character, very strong female lead, but took a back seat to Zach’s ideals.

The Style

The writing style is very interesting. It took me a few chapters to get used to the style of writing, but once I did it was easy and quick to read. Multiple perspectives from different characters can sometimes be confusing and frustrating. Some parts I did have to re-read to understand the full concept being presented.

The Recommendation

I would recommend this book to a mature audience that enjoys reading concepts on life. The spiritual questions may leave younger readers upset or confused. Minimal swearing and sexual suggestion, but no sexual content. I look forward to the next installment in The Game is Life series.

Gene Wilder - Willy Wonka

June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was originally written in 1964 by British author Roald Dahl. It was a fabulous book that I loved as a child. The movie based on this book, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory was a childhood statement piece. Released in 1971, many years before I was born, it was a popular movie in my household. It was a top choice with us three kids on many occasions.

Gene Wilder, actor of Willy Wonka, was an amazing choice for the part. He was entertaining and really brought the character from the book to life. It was sad to hear of his passing today and I wanted to make note of his impact on my life. I look forward to sharing this movie with my children one day. 

More Hogwarts!

Just announced....

Coming on September 9, 2016, the Pottermore Presents ebooks! I am excited to get my hands on some more Hogwarts stories and look forward to diving into more behind the scenes content that J.K. Rowling has had up her sleeves! 


With the newest release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child script and the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hitting theaters in November, we can't get enough of this wizarding world! 


To learn more, head on over to pottermore.com

Review: The Shadows

The Details

Title: The Shadows

Author: Jacqueline West

Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade

Length: 272 pages

Release Date: June 14, 2011

Medium: E-book (Library)

Rating: 4/5

Pace: Fast

Stand Alone or Series: Book #1 of The Books of Elsewhere series

“Ms. McMartin was definitely dead.”

The Synopsis

This house is keeping secrets . . .

When eleven-year-old Olive and her parents move into the crumbling mansion on Linden Street and find it filled with mysterious paintings, Olive knows the place is creepy—but it isn’t until she encounters its three talking cats that she realizes there’s something darkly magical afoot. Then Olive finds a pair of antique spectacles in a dusty drawer and discovers the most peculiar thing yet: She can travel inside the house’s spooky paintings to a world that’s strangely quiet . . . and eerily sinister. But in entering Elsewhere, Olive has been ensnared in a mystery darker and more dangerous than she could have imagined, confronting a power that wants to be rid of her by any means necessary. With only the cats and an unusual boy she meets in Elsewhere on her side, it’s up to Olive to save the house from the shadows, before the lights go out for good.

The Review

Classic outcast child with no friends and not very close to her family takes on the spooky new house she moved into. I listened to this book due to a recommendation from a friend of mine. I love listening to middle grade books when working as they are easier to follow.

I loved Olive’s adventures into the paintings throughout her house. The fantasy of living in a haunted house with the ability to enter paintings using the old glasses Olive found provides an adventure unlike others I have read personally. Olive becomes friends with talking cats and a boy within the paintings. Without giving away too much, I loved the adventure and fantasy aspects of this story.

The Characters

Olive, the main female character, moved into a new house on the street where the previous owner was found deceased. She is a very lovable and spunky character. She provides some great real-life experiences.

Morton, the character within the painting world, was also a lovable character. I loved learning about his life and seeing the relationship with Olive.

The cats were fantastic. I loved their attitudes and ability to talk. I am a cat lover and it really hit home for me.

The Style

I listened to the audio book from my local library. The narrator, Lexy Fridell, did a wonderful job and was an excellent choice for narration. She had the right voice tone for the vision I saw when listening to the book. I felt the book was fast paced and didn’t really have any dull moments. Even when the story line slowed down and there wasn’t as much action, I felt like it kept the pace.

The Recommendation

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a light fantasy with a fun story line. There may be some dark scenes for younger readers (under 8), but I think it’s a great introduction to fantasy for middle grade readers. I am not the typical audience for this book, but I enjoyed it none the less. I look forward to reading the next book in The Books of Elsewhere series.

Review: Everything, Everything

The Details

Title: Everything, Everything

Author: Nicola Yoon 

Genre: Contemporary YA Romance 

Release Date: September 1, 2015 

Rating: 4.5/5 

Pace: Fast 

Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone

“Just because you can’t experience everything doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experience anything.”

The Synopsis

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

The Review

This is not just another sick teen novel! If you only take one thing away from this review, I hope it’s that. This book was selected by my local book club and to be honest it wasn’t my top choice. When I first read the synopsis of this book I was a bit worried it would be like all those other “I’m a teenager who is dying, falling in love, and having family dynamic issues”. However, I was so pleasantly surprised when it became much more than that!

How can one book make me feel so depressed and yet so hopeful at the same time?! Reading about the sheltered life Madeline Whittier was living in her “bubble house”, not being allowed outside, and only eating bland foods was extremely interesting. I loved her relationships with her mother, her nurse, and of course Olly. 

Madeline Whittier was a very entertaining and loving character. I appreciated her high spirit in the face of frustration. When she could have given up knowing she would never get to experience a “normal” life, she pushed forward and proved that life is more than her disease.

The Style

The multiple mediums throughout the book make the reading experience so much more enjoyable. Through IMs, emails, journal pages, drawings, and diagrams it felt like Madeline was real and not just another fictional character.

Recommendation

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick and easy read. It was an emotional roller-coaster and left me wanting more. I really hope that Yoon comes out with a sequel.