“In the beginning we were nine.
We left when we were very young, almost too young to remember. Almost. And now . . .
Three are gone.
We are here to keep our race alive, which was almost entirely obliterated. We’re just trying to survive.
Six are left.
But we are hunted, and the hunters won’t stop until they’ve killed us all.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
I am Number Four.
I know that I am next.”

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (the pseudonym for authors Jobie Hughes and James Frey) has been touted as one of the most exciting new releases for this year – the book’s film rights were secured months before release and is due out in February produced by Michael Bay (Transformers) and Steven Spielberg.

Lorien is one of the eighteen life sustaining planets in the universe. Life, similar to that of Earth has been thriving there for millions of years with the people there developing technologies much like our own. These technologies however almost destroyed their planet (like what is happening here on Earth) so the people of Lorien reform their ways and swap the pollutants for eco-friendly and sustainable living. On this planet there are two types of people – the Garde who develop powers called Legacies and the Cêpan who protect them.
Then the Mogardorians show up. Dark, ruthless creatures that have come to wage war on Lorien to take control after they sapped their own planet of resources. An ugly clash takes place while the people of Lorien were caught off guard and the battle is lost. However, 9 children, and their Cêpan guardians, are shipped off the planet to Earth, to bide their time and return when they can fight to save their home.

Confused? Stay with me, stay with me…

Ten years on the Mogadorians are after the 9 children and they must be killed in order. Three are dead and John, is fourth in line. He’s been on the run all his life but now the stakes are higher, he must remain hidden till his powers develop so he can finally fight back against those who took everything from him.

Once you get past the disorientation that comes with starting a sci-fi or fantasy book you settle into the story and get quite absorbed in John’s story. It’s exciting and suspenseful with more than one occasion that felt like “Ohmygodohmygod, what? What? WHATS HAPPENING?” this book really knows how to get you into the feel of the chase.

There are a couple of plot holes (like, how come a whole planet of adults with Legacies can’t defeat the Mogardorians but 9…now 6 kids will?) and times where things were a bit predictable or convenient but overall I did enjoy it though it didn’t live up to my excitement.

Like most YA novels, there is a love story, but this one made me cringe. After arriving at a new school John falls in love with the very beautiful, nice, caring, smart, artistic, apparently flawless, Sarah. Their relationship doesn’t feel believable and within the space of three months have developed a lifelong devotion that is based on not much other than their “love”.The dialogue between John and Sarah made me roll my eyes, particularly when John gives his big reveal about his identity; she just looks him in the eyes and believes him. Just like that. No questions or doubt. She just loves him more. Gag.

I had conflicting feelings about John himself as a main character. We’re in his head the whole time and you sympathize with his situation and see that generally he’s a pretty good kid. But….toward the end I felt very frustrated with him, once his powers surfaced it’s like he lost any survival instinct and more than once I felt like yelling, “JUST RUN JOHN, RUN!” where he put himself and the people around him in danger when it really wasn’t necessary…..but I guess, then we wouldn’t have a story.

On the other hand, John’s guardian Henri and best friend Sam were great characters that you warm up to. Henri has been John’s surrogate dad for the last 10 years and always displays a sense of wisdom and kindness whereas Sam is a quirky guy who ironically is fascinated by aliens and U.F.Os.

Despite its flaws I Am Number Four still has its merits such as the non preachy approach to sending an environmental message. There’s great skill in the way atmosphere is built up, there’s a sense of fear and suspense that’s only seen in your nightmares. It’s a sci-fi book but not to the point that it will only appeal to sci-fi fans, it’s got plenty of action and as the first of a planned six book series it’s off to a decent start.

Pages: 448

Publication Date: August 2010

Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “He tells me I need to jump. I stand on legs that are wobbly and still hurt, and just before I jump, I turn and see the three Mogadorians are standing on the porch across the street. They are staring at me, and their swords are gleaming.”

“Ruby has always been an outcast. The least loved daughter and the school freak, Ruby’s future is a bleak one. Until one day the strange but endearing Finn Gallagher tell her that she was selected for a special program. A program that would have changed her life and made her dreams come true.
Except that it got cancelled. Because Finn accidentally ruined it. Consumed with guilt, Finn tell her his biggest secret: he’s from another world. Determined to give Ruby and adventure, Finn takes her into Rhodon, a world that exists parallel to her own. Rhodon is an extraordinary place where no one is a freak, where the sky is pink and the people are special.
Inexplicably, Ruby discovers that she has abilities just like the people in this new world, and for the first time in her life she belongs. She makes friends and Finn’s family treats her as one of their own.
But there is a cost: if she stays she risks the lives of the people that have come to care for her, because Ruby’s unique powers have attracted the interest of people that would stop at nothing to control her.”

Rhodon is the first book in the The Rhodon Saga and the debut novel from Australian author Elise K. Ackers. The story follows fifteen year old Ruby Masters as she struggles through her day to day life. Not only is she a social outcast, her own adoptive family barely tolerate her. On the last day of school before summer break she meets Finn Gallagher, a strange but kind boy who seems intent on following her around.

But Finn was sent by the Dream Weavers, an organization that, backed by sponsors, creates life changing opportunities for selected people of Kyanos (or our world as we know it). He’s been sent to retrieve Ruby to start her on a program that will make all her dreams come true, however, things become complicated when Finn messes up the plan and Ruby’s program becomes scrapped. Wracked with guilt at leaving Ruby to return to her sad life Finn shares his secret, he’s from a parallel world called Rhodon and to make up for ruining her world, he’s going to smuggle her into his.

Once they make it through to the other side Ruby changes from the square peg trying to fit into the circle that she was in her world to someone that might actually belong. It soon appears that not only does she fit in but Ruby has extraordinary powers – ones that could get her and her surrogate family into a lot of trouble.

Rhodon was a big surprise to me, since the cover and summary don’t do the story justice. It was an engaging and captivating read that’s like a sci-fi version of Harry Potter. It’s a story about love, identity and belonging on many levels and really shows the importance of human connection – both emotionally and physically, where even holding hands is deep and powerful. As well as this, Rhodon definitely has plenty of adventure, especially when Ruby starts to embrace her powers, and fights back against people who’ll want to use them against her will.

Emotions were shown in a unique way – not just expressed by the characters but in Rhodon emotions were visible through color, which lay all your emotions on the table and in some ways, can be used against you. How can you be deceptive when your thoughts are shown on the ink you write with?

The Gallagher family were really beautiful characters, displaying the depth of love, family and togetherness in the best way possible. Finn’s family and Ruby’s family are in harsh contrast to each other and further emphasize just how incompatible she was with her world. Ruby was a great character, and praise goes to Ackers for giving the main character such a natural and believable train of thought, where not only was it realistic but the reader was coming to the same conclusions at the same time as Ruby.  A special mention has to go to Olive though – for a bunny, she’s got a lot of guts.

I’m eagerly anticipating the next installment of this series.

Pages: 306
Publication Date:  Late 2010
Rating::

Teaser quote: Ruby bit her lip. Her insides felt cold and her stomach heavy. “This is big, isn’t it?”
Finn nodded. “This is bigger than all of us.”

Hey guys!

Here is my last review as an official member of yaReads team! Hope you enjoy, it has been a pleasure being here, and I have loved every moment. A big welcome to Christina, and to the forum go-ers, I’ll see you all around there.

Katie.

Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents’ rules – especially the one about never opening the mysterious old box in her father’s office. But when her dad is murdered and her college savings disappear, this good girl is tempted to peek inside, because the contents just might be key to winning a lucrative chemistry scholarship.

To better her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristen Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize but also to save Tristen’s sanity. Maybe his life. As things heat up in the lab, though, Jill’s accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and will compel her to risk everything – even Tristen’s love – just for the thrill of being…bad.

Jill Jekel has just lost her father to a brutal death. No one knows why. A murder in the dead of the night, no answers to be found by the police. Her mother can’t cope, spiralling downwards into a state of despair. Jill’s life has been turned upside down, with false sympathy on all sides, no one to talk to and no one to understand. Except for the mysterious Tristen Hyde who turns up at her father’s funeral for the soul purpose to comfort Jill. Or so it seems.

For Jill and Tristen are about to get to know each other better than what they ever thought they would. Paired up together to work in secret on an entry into the prestigious Foreman Foundation for the Promotion of Scientific Inquiry national scholarship contest, Jill and Tristen start to discover that their own family history might be closer linked than anyone had ever imagined. Found in the locked box in her father’s study, Jill and Tristen start to work on the secret manuscripts that were part of the hit novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. As Tristen starts to let Jill into more of his life, the pair discover that not only is it a matter of winning Jill a scholarship so she can attend college, but it might just be the answer to saving Tristen’s life. Yet as things begin to spiral more out of control, will Jill know when enough is too much?

Jekel Loves Hyde is the second novel from bestselling author Beth Fantaskey, her first novel being the popular Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. Jekel Loves Hyde is something different. Borrowing themes and linking in with the classic novel, I found you didn’t need to know anything about the original to understand the story. It was captivating and intriguing, the plot moving forward from one surprising revelation to the next. Twists that you didn’t originally see coming soon developed into influencing the ending.

Jill and Tristen were also developed characters. They interacted in ways that are real, feeling like they could actually be real people in Fantaskey’s developed world. They faced trials and hardships and overcame them in their own unique way. However, it seems that despite two well-crafted lead characters, Fantaskey lacked development in her supporting characters. Becca, for instance, was weak and difficult to like. Supposedly the best friend to Jill, she never acted like it, and felt like a character that was merely there to create a conflict between Jill and Tristen.

Despite all the merits to Fantaskey’s plot, writing and main characters, I felt that Jekel Loves Hyde another novel aimed at the Twilight loving fans. The danger Jill and Tristen went through seemed too much like a heighted state of ‘life or death’ that they characters had to overcome to be together. It was, at times, difficult to see that the situations they found themselves in would really occur. I found that I needed to convince myself to continue reading, that whenever I put it down, it was difficult to pick it up again.

Pages: 282

Publication date: 2010 – available now

Rating::

Teaser quote: Not daring to believe, I swiped one arm across my eyes and slowly turned my face to his, sucking in my breath at the sight of his open eyes. Astonished not just by the fact that Tristen was alive but by the expression on his face. I heard the wonder, the confusion, in my voice as I dared to say his name. ‘Tristen’?

Keep your head down. Don’t get noticed. Or else.

I’m Trella. I’m a scrub. A Nobody.

One of thousands who work in the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I’ve got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? Not like it’s all that dangerous – the only neck at risk is my own.

Until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

I should have just said no…

Trella’s life is a never-ending pattern. Work the even shifts, 10 hours on, 10 hours off. Cleaning the air-ducts with her cleaning troll. Turn troll on. Follow troll. Turn troll of, move to the next duct. It’s a life that she has known for years. One that has made her hate the scrubs around her. It’s in the ducts that Trella can get her peace. No one else around, just her and the metal. And when you have a life with no friends, it’s easy to see why Trella chooses the ducts over the taunts and hostile glances of the other scrubs around her. All except one – Cogon. Everyone is friends with Cog, and it’s impossible not to be.

Cog had been looking for Trella. He has a new prophet he wants her to meet. An Upper who did something so wrong that he was cast into the Lower levels to be forgotten. Yet Trella has her suspicions. This Upper knows too much about her, is asking for too much and promising too little. Yet it’s the kind of thing Trella can’t resist. A chance to prove why she is the queen of the pipes. For the prophet claims he has information on the location of Gateway. The portal to Outside. Yet, they are hidden. In his old apartment, which just happens to be in the restricted section of the Uppers. Scrubs aren’t meant to access the Uppers, and Trella is probably the only who has found a way around.

Against her better judgment, Trella goes looking for the prophet’s disks, knowing that if she is caught, she has no hope of ever returning to the Lowers. Yet as she continues to delve further into the secrets of Inside, she realises maybe everything isn’t exactly as they have been told. After a chance meeting with an Upper who doesn’t turn her in, Trella embarks on a path more dangerous than anything she has tried before. Along with Riley, Cog and the prophet, Trella embarks on the path to discovering the true location of Gateway. A location that every scrub has heard of, but few believe exists. Yet there is a cost, more deadly then Trella could ever imagine.

As more and more scrubs and Uppers alike start to become involved, it is only a matter of time before one of them will be gone forever…

Inside Out is the start of a new series from bestselling author Maria V. Snyder. I have been a large fan of Snyder’s work, and was interested to see how Inside Out would live up to her, in my opinion, most well known work, the Study Series. From the first chapter, the writing and perspective of Trella captured me. Trella was a character that was so clearly defined that I knew we were on for an adventure. Trella develops from a girl who doesn’t trust anyone around her, into a young woman who is confidant in what she needs to do to protect those around her. Trella goes through her rough moments, her self doubts and battles her inner demons on why is she helping to do something she swore she didn’t believe in? Yet without the help of Cog and Riley, Trella would not have been able to achieve anything. For Cog teaches her how to see those around her for more than just mindless scrubs, and Riley convinces Trella that not all Uppers are the same, that there are people who she can trust.

The development of the social constructs of Inside is completely thought out and impeccably detailed. Each and every aspect of society is there, rules that must be obeyed or fought against. Social hierarchy, illegal activities and the ever alluring promise of Outside. The world is complete in a way that lets you get completely lost in the actions of Trella and her friends, lets you believe that their situation is possible. Extremely well written in a way that leaves you needing to read the next page, Snyder has constructed a work that I see as the beginning to a new and fantastic series.

Publication date: 2010

Pages: 315

Rating::

Teaser quote: My heart dropped into my stomach and ran laps. Lieutenant Commander Karla and three Pop Cops followed my supervisor. The LC’s smug expression and the terrified fury on my supervisor’s fact told me all I needed to know.

Without hesitating, I ran.

When Molly gets kicked out of the Naval Academy, she loses more than just another home, she loses the only two things that truly matter: flying in space and her training partner, Cloe. A dull future seems to await, until a marvellous discovery changes everything.

Her father’s old starship, missing for a decade, turns up halfway across the galaxy. Its retrieval launches Molly and Cole on the adventure of a lifetime, one that will have lasting consequences for themselves and billions of others.

What starts off as a simple quest to reconnect with her past, ends up forging a new future. And the forgotten family she hoped to uncover becomes one she never foresaw: a band of alien misfits and runaways – the crew of the starship Parsona.

Ever looked up into the sky at night and imagined yourself flying around the stars off on some other-worldly adventure? Well, this is Molly’s reality. Or will be. Molly is a navy cadet. And don’t be fooled into thinking the Navy is what we understand the Navy to be. Yes they drive ships, but not the standard H.M.A.S. vessels of today’s waters. Molly and her fellow classmates are learning to pilot starships. Sure they are still in training but running a full visual simulator is darn close to the real thing, right down to the G-force experienced.

But in a standard-procedure simulator test, something seems to go wrong. For Molly and her pilot Cole fail and fail miserably. And as much as they try to convince their superiors otherwise, no-one believes them. For Molly and Cole’s simulator was tampered with. Every procedure runs fine, except the ability to arm and fire weapons. Without weapons, they have almost a no-chance at survival. Cole suspects sabotage. With both of them for examination, it will be Molly that the blame is laid at. Particular since Cole was technically ‘killed’ early into the simulator run and it is so much easier to blame the girl.

For Molly, this means expulsion. No more training, and no more hope of becoming a Naval officer. Resigned to a life at a normal high school, everything suddenly seems less for Molly. If loss of her only home, her connection to her past and her best friend that she can’t stop thinking about wasn’t enough, Molly is an outcast in her new school, merely because she is different. That is, until she gets an opportunity of a lifetime. Her father’s ship has been found. And as the legal owner, Molly is the only one who can go and collect it.

And a seemingly straightforward mission is the start of a whole new adventure that even Molly couldn’t begin to fathom…

Molly Fyde and the Parson Rescue is debut novel from Hugh Howey and the first in the Molly Fyde series. The thing that grabbed me from the first page of this novel was the believability in writing and character. The plot just flowed effortlessly, from describing the complexities of hyperspace, simulation flying and other world social structure to the simple dialogue between two best friends struggling to find what they mean to each other. There aren’t many authors who can get you completely lost in a story, but Howey was one of them. For me, I just wanted to know what would happen next, what the next twist in the story would be. As a credit to the author, I never saw the ending that was coming. It makes you easily want to read the next book in the series as soon as you can.

The characters of Molly and Cole were another highlight to the novel. Reading from Molly’s point of view as she struggled through countless personal and emotional challenges left me caring about what happened to her. The history and connection between Molly and Cole as a pair was believable, and the tension that built up added to the story, instead of taking away from it as so many teen-romances can be known to do. That being said, Molly does have her fair share of moments where I just wanted to knock some sense into her and tell her to get over the small dramatics that really seemed unnecessary.

All in all though, a highly engaging read that I would recommend for anyone who is or was a fan of space adventure.

Pages: 258

Publication Date: 2009

Rating::

Teaser quote: By the time they arrived at the Palan system, he must’ve had eighteen hours of uninterrupted rest. No bathroom breaks. No food. No flirting. Molly couldn’t understand how he contained himself. Even from the last.

It would take a very special person to crack the computer systems of the White House.

An expert. A genius. A devil. All of the above, some would say.

Someone like Sam Wilson, brilliant teenage computer hacker. But Sam’s obsession is about to lead him into a dangerous world. A world of espionage and intrigue; of cybercrime and imminent war.

A world where logging on to your computer could mean the difference between life and death.

Sam Wilson is just your average teenager. At least he looks like your average teenager. What is different about Sam is his ability with computers. Sam can access nearly anything that is on the internet. He has written his own computer programs to allow this and just recently pulled off one of the biggest hacks the world has seen – with a few side effects. Sam hacked into Telecomerica, got himself and his friend a new computer and neuro-headset, but in the process, caused the majority of the United States of America to lose power. For a few days.

Of course, if you ask Sam, none of that was meant to happen but he needed to blow off his trackers somehow. And as Sam successfully gets his new computer without any obvious form of detection, Sam is ready for his next challenge – NetH@ack. The secret convention of the most skilled hackers on the net. With belief in his ability that he can’t be caught, Sam almost succeeds. That is, until the Cyber Defence Division of Homeland Security knocks on his door.

Transport to a containment facility, Sam is destined to be a prisoner for the rest of his life. Seemingly forgotten by all but his mother, it is the worst situation Sam could have ended up in. Constant security, no internet access and limited computer time on a computer so ancient and riddled in security protection, that it seems impossible to get through. Apparently. But if you know what Sam does, then it seems like biding your time is all that you have to do.

Making one of the most daring escape attempts in the history of Recton Hall, against all odds, Sam succeeds only to be picked up, again, by the Cyber Defence Division which seems like it was waiting for this exact move, somehow knowing that Sam would try to escape. Once Sam reaches CDD headquarters, everything that he thought he knew, gets turned completely on its head. Sam is given a lifetime opportunity – if he can survive the probation.

And when the next war begins, it starts in cyberspace, and Sam is part of the front line of defence, and it’s up to Sam to stop the internet taking over the world.

Brian Jack by Brian Falkner is a fast moving action thriller that kept me turning page after page, wondering what is going to happen next. When I started reading, and I found that Brian Jack was based in cyberspace, I was worried that it would become too technical, that I wouldn’t understand the language being used, but quite like his previous novel Falkner provides a way that you don’t need to be a tech-savvy person to understand and enjoy the novel. The feeling of being in over your head only enhances the understanding of the stakes the characters would be going through. The development of Sam from a teenager who believes he can do anything into a person who understands the implications of what one single action will have on the world is believable and engaging from start to finish.

A good read with a fast plot and an action thriller for all ages.

Pages: 438

Publication Date: 2009

Rating::

“Your Noise reveals you, Todd Hewitt.”
A voice –
In the darkness –
Everything is shadows and blur and it feels like the world’s spinning and my blood is too hot and my brain is clogged and I can’t think and it’s dark –
I blink again.
Wait –
No, wait –
Just now, just now we were in the square –
Just now she was in my arms –
She was dying in my arms –
“Where is she?” I spit into the dark, tasting my blood, my voice croaking, my Noise rising like a sudden hurricane, high and red and furious. “WHERE IS SHE?”

This is how the second novel in the Chaos Walking Trilogy, The Ask and the Answer, begins. My heart was thumping as I read every single word. Every single freaking word, and it did not stop thumping until the end, some 519 pages later. Even then, I had to take a walk around the block just to calm myself down.

For those that have read the first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go, you’ll be well aware that readers were left dangling in the midst of one hell of a cliffhanger ending. Fortunately, this installment picks up right where that one left off, only now our two protagonists are no longer together. Todd has no idea where Viola is, or even if she’s alive. But the Mayor (actually, that’s Mr President to you now, thank you very much) promises Todd she’s alive and that he’ll get to see her soon. Todd has nothing else to go off and has to believe what he’s being told. He just has to. The thought of Viola not being alive any more is just too much to contemplate. He tried to save her; he tried with everything he had. What if it wasn’t enough?

I know what you’re thinking. If Viola isn’t with Todd, how are we supposed to know what happened to her? Fear not, special readers, as Patrick Ness is the God of all Gods right now and he definitely factored that in. Viola fans will be super pleased to hear that she has her own point of view in this installment, which means – obviously – that she’s alive. But she doesn’t know where Todd is, either, doesn’t know if Todd is even still alive. The President has her being held ‘captive’ and wont tell her a thing. The President is no fool, and he knows better than anyone that keeping Viola and Todd apart is imperative if he wants to see out his plans successfully.

Can you imagine what would happen if they were ever reunited, what they could achieve as a team? Would it be their connection be as strong as it was before? Would they still need each other so desperately? Maybe you’ll find out, but then again, maybe you wont…

Todd grows a whole freaking lot in this novel. He displays the maturity and strength of character of someone much older than just thirteen. In fact, at times, I found it hard to believe (in an astoundingly impressed way) that someone of his age would know so much, would have the emotional capacity to feel the way he does. It’s almost impossible not to fall in love with Todd – even if he is only thirteen years old.

I adored reading Viola’s point of view, as well. Readers are afforded the privilege of stepping inside her mind and witnessing first hand how she thinks – and honestly, I can see now why Todd likes her so much. She’s a fierce, strong girl with a remarkable capacity for compassion. She’s a fantastic heroine, and a great role model for young girls everywhere.

The Ask and the Answer is completely unputdownable. I read the entire 519 pages in one sitting, not even stopping to go to the loo. This is one series I know I’ll read over and over again in the years to come.

Rating::