The Program Book Review

Title: The Program
Author: Suzanne Young
# of Pages: 405
Series #: Program #1
Reading Span: June 11th - 13th
Rating: ****/

That ending... This book was simply amazing.

The only thing that I didn't like about this book was the romance, and the repetition that occurred in the first 120 pages. After finishing the book, I understood why Suzanne Young wrote those scenes, and I loved that she did.

The idea for The Program was actually quite brilliant, but also a bit frightening. This book is not a dystopia, it's more or less the exact same government that we have today. It's so scary to think that suicide could actually become a real problem, and that it could happen in a mere 20-30 years from now. I swear, if anything like The Program comes into society, I will never let anyone send anybody there. I loved to hate the "cure".

I also loved to hate the characters that Sloane encountered. I especially dislike Roger, the creepy handler. I'm also not a huge fan of Realm, but I can't help but feel a love for him deep inside. James could sometimes be annoying, but for that most part I loved his cockiness. Miller was great too, he might have even been one of my favourites. Lacey was also great, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with her in the next book. Sloane was also a very strong main character, and I was happy to follow her along on her journey.

What little world-building there was in this book was very well done. I can understand why The Program exists, and why they use the cure that they do. I liked how Suzanne Young explained this to me, as well as to the rest of her readers, in a way that took very little time, but was also engaging.

I've seen a couple reviews where people had been complaining about the awkward pacing in this book, and I completely disagree. I think that pacing was very steady, and not only that but it was always interesting. Some claim that the beginning wasn't necessary, but, as I mentioned before, it played a role in the book, and it wasn't entirely boring to read.

I also thought that the ending was suitable. It left open plenty of room for a sequel. Yes, it was a cliff-hanger, but Suzanne Young wrote it as though I wasn't sitting there awkwardly, or have any questions that I felt took away from the first book.

Finally, I cannot go without mentioning the important topic that The Program covered. I found myself almost down to tears, hearing about all of the suicide that was happening. I also felt torn when Sloane was torn after loosing her memories of everything. After reading this, I feel especially concerned for the world. Suicide defiantly needs to be addressed.

I defiantly think that everyone should check this out. Although I think that teens aged 13-17 would enjoy this better then adults, I defiantly think that you should consider this. Do be warned that this book is not meant for younger audiences, as it does cover some mature scenes. Happy reading!

Books With Theme: Dragons

I've been getting some requests to do a books with theme on dragons, so here I am today bringing that post forth.

This first book I'm sure you are all familiar with – Eragon by Chistopher Paolini. Although I haven't read this book, I have seen the movie. It is a great YA book filled with adventure, a boy and a dragon. Although there are many mixed reviews about this book, it may be worthwhile to go and check it out! Average rating on goodreads: 3.74

Do you like princess'? Do you like dragons? Then this book is for you! Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede is about a tom-boyish princess who runs away with a dragon. I have heard that this book is filled with innocent childhood humour. An easy read, with a great average rating of 4.14 on goodreads.

Although it may look intimidating, A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin is a fantastic adult read about a Dragon King. By reading this you dive head first into a complex fantasy world. It's average rating (4.43) is also, fantastic, with 58% of goodreads readers giving the book 5/5 stars.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George is another middle-grade fantasy novels about, what else? Dragons. In this one, our main character, Creel, decides to sacrifice herself to a dragon. But the outcome to this tale is not what it would seem. I'm expecting the unexpected with this one! Average rating: 4.20

Rachal Hartman's 2012 debut, Seraphina, is all about a girl living in the kingdom of Goredd. In this kingdom, human's and dragon's have been mistrusting each other, and as the peace treaty's anniversay draws near, tensions are very high. This book, honestly, sounds amazing, and I have heard that it is extremely well written. Average rating: 4.06

Firelight by Sophie Gordan sounds really good! Jacinda is a draki, a descendant of dragons whose greatest defence is her secret ability to shift into human form. Jacinda must flee into the mortal world, where she meets Will who stirs her inner draki to life. This sounds really original, and I'm excited to check into this! Average rating: 3.94

The last book in this "books with theme" post is going to be Eon by Alison Goodman. Eon has been studying Dragon Magic for years, but he also has a secret. He's actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been living in a dangerous lie for the chance to become a Dragon-eye, the human link to an energy dragon's power. It is forbidden for females to practice the Dragon Magic, and if Eon is discovered, he will face a terrible death... I've heard amazing things abut this one, and it has an average rating of 4.02.

So that's that! Comment below with more ideas for these posts... Perhaps even another dragon one? Happy reading!

Dragon photo: http://eofdreams.com/dragon.html
Synopsis': goodreads.com

Tiger's Curse Book Review

Title: Tiger's Curse
Author: Colleen Houck
# of pages: 456
Series #: The Tiger Saga #1
Reading Span: September 6th - DNF
Rating: */

Warning: If you really like this book, don't read this review. You may be offended!
    Tiger's Curse is about a girl named Kelsey who finds a summer job working at the circus. As she begins to work, she falls in love with a gorgeous snowy tiger named, Ren. When the opportunity arrives to escort him back to his home country, Kelsey jumps at the chance... And finds out that there is much more to Ren then what scratches the surface. She ends up diving headfirst into an adventure of mystery and love – trying to break a curse.
    Sounds good right? I think so! Well, unfortunately, this book is not quite as good as that synopsis leads us to believe. The story was quite boring and awkward, the characters were unlikeable, and overall, it was taking up too much of my time that could be spent reading something way better. I actually quit this book when I reached 268 pages. I just couldn't push through. Therefore, this review may not be entirely accurate, but I feel like I have enough to talk about to make my thoughts into a full review.
    The only thing that I really liked about this book was the idea of it. Sure, it wasn't completely original, but it was enough to keep me interested. In fact, when I first went into this book it was really great. I loved how it was set in a circus, as I hadn't read a book with a circus setting before. The characters were also decent, in their first impression. But after that...
    For one, the characters were flawless. As good as that sounds... it sucked. It made the book so cheesy and unrealistic. I mean, seriously, who in this world says thank-you 50 billion times a day? Even to the people they hate? No one, I tell you. No one.
    My favourite character was actually Kishan, the one I was supposed to hate. He was the most alive and real. He had real life problems. He did things wrong. He was human. However, it was really hard to relate to the other character because they were so out of this world.
    Although the plot was original and interesting, it was also quite predictable. <spoiler> Oh Ren's actually a human? Oh, what do you know. </spoiler> It took away from the story more then other predictable novels have. It was just so annoying that I couldn't concentrate on the important parts on the story.
    The romance between Ren and Kelsey didn't bother me too much, but honestly, it didn't need to be there. I could see it happening in the second book (with Kishan running off with Ren's wife-to-be and all), but in the first book it just took up space that could otherwise be filled with (somewhat) interesting fight scenes of information on mythology.
    That's another thing... The mythology. Although I found it to be quite interesting, the way it was told was just random and boring. You're telling me another story... great... Didn't we hear another a couple pages ago? It was too repetitive and sometimes I felt like skipping through those pages and getting to the actual adventure.
    The adventure was as unrealistic as the characters. You could tell where the "cut-outs" were. It wasn't Kelsey and her life, it was random words on a page. This may seem like a tedious complaint, but whenever these bits shone through, I literally put the book down and didn't pick it up again for a while.
    That being said, I think that this is a "love-it-or-hate-it-book". I would defiantly read some other books before this one (check out my goodreads for some of my favourites). If you are really keen on reading this book, I would read an excerpt/the first 100-150 or so pages, and make your own decision from there. I wish that I had this advice going into this book.
    I would love to hear your thoughts on how this book was, and if you agree or disagree on my thoughts. Happy reading!

Secondary October TBR

It's almost half-way through the month and none of my chosen books are available to me at the moment. Instead, I am going to be choosing a second round of creepy books that I have with me, and get some reviews out there. I will still be reading the other books I chose, just perhaps not as soon as these ones.

1. Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter: I really love fairytale retellings, an this book is just that with a creepy, Halloween twist.

2. Doll Bones by Holly Black: A new middle-grade release that I will hopefully be able to fly through pretty quick.

3. Undercurrent by Paul Blackwell: Murder mystery!! Pretty creepy, if I do say so myself

4. Dark Eden by Patrick Carman: Probably the least creepy of them all, but still has that dark (haha), eerie feel

5. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken: Already started this one and it's so good!! Also dark.

6. The Soulkeepers by G. P. Ching: Again, already started it... And it's creepy! Perfect for Halloween. 

7. Indelible by Daen Metcalf: If the cover doesn't draw you in, I don't know what does. That and the awesome synopsis! Whoa! So excited!

Yes, I have more then my regular 3. No, I'm probably not going to read them all (quite yet), but I will read at least 3 or 4 of the 7 and review them for you. Comment below if there's a review you really want to see! And happy reading. 

The New And Improved Blog: Update (7)

When I first created this blog, I was totally out of the book blogging community, so when I came up with the name "The Book Nook", I thought it was brilliant. Really, though, it is quite plain. It has been almost a year with this boring title, and so it's about time to get a new one. So say goodbye to "The Book Nook" and say hello to "For The Love Of Books".

This video is also posted on my YouTube channel. Click here to visit my page! Happy reading!

Identity Poetry Anthology!

At school, I have been working really hard to create a poetry anthology that represents my identity. This is what came out of it!

September Wrap-Up

I'm actually really embarrassed to make this post. I only read three books. Three books! And I say I'm an avid reader...

The good news is that I read all of the books that were on my TBR. This is a miracle guys! The thing is, um, I'm still kind of in the middle of Between, but that i
s my next book that I am going to finish. I promise.

1. Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony (****): To view my review click here.
2. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson (*****): Click here to see my review.
3. Jonathan Livingston Seagull (***): Here is my review.
4. I also read half of Between by Jessica Warman. Review coming soon!

What did you read? Comment below, and happy reading!