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Guest Review: Nevermore by James Patterson

Hey Remarkable Readers!

Today I have something special for you, a guest review!  The lovely Willa of Willa's Ramblings is here today to review Nevermore by James Patterson.  She is reviewing this because she was willing to do me an amazing favor since I haven't read the rest of the series and because she's just wonderful.  When you're done reading through her review, definitely head over and check out her blog!

Without further adieu, May I introduce.... Willa!

 (Maximum Ride, #8)  Goodreads

Release Date: August 6th, 2012

Source: Little, Brown and Company

One last chance…
For Max, Fang, Angel, Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy.
Before it all ends.
Are you ready for the final chapter? Are you ready for the ultimate flight? Because THIS IS IT. One last incredible, explosive adventure with an astonishing ending that no one could have seen coming.


     Is it just me, or does it seem like these books go on and on and on and on. So when it was announced that this one was the last – like the last, the last – I realized it had to be just totally amazing.
I was right.
     This book was action-packed – with fight scenes stuck next to heart-wrenchingly emotional, to character arcs that make you blink a couple of times, to discoveries that change everything. This book has it all – and more. Max is tested, Dylan has to decide how far he willing to go for Max, Fang has to come to terms with his feelings for Max, Nudge realizes a thing or two about being normal, Gazzy and Iggy are their hilarious selves, and Angel – well Angel is her kick-butt self.
     Somehow, in 368 pages, James Patterson manages to wow the audience again – after eight books. He has the talent to build up characters, take readers for a roller coaster ride, have them land safely on the ground, and then a disaster takes place that makes you ache for the next book. And after all of that, his characters are in their precarious spot of people knowing who they are, and yet they’re supposed to battle Erasers (which scare me to death), evil scientists who raised them, and people who aren’t what they seem. Max and the flock are in for some fun.
     There was one thing I was very thankful for: James Patterson took the really weid situation that Dylan and Max were in, and made them kind of fall for each other, and then throw Fang back into the mix. Because Fang just has the talent of taking everything and making it a whole lot more dramatic. But when it came time for Max to make a decision, she made a decision that we all knew she would – but she didn’t leave behind the other guy. And I was very thankful. (Because honestly, the other guy was quite awesome.)
     Nevermore raises the standards, pushes the characters to their limits, tests the boundaries of love and shows the true extents friends and family are willing to go for each other. A addicting finale that was well worth the wait.

Waiting on Wednesday

The only thing worse than forgetting her past... is remembering it.

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

From popular young adult author, Jessica Brody comes a mesmerizing and suspenseful new series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten.

Although I've never read any of Jessica's Books, they always seem girly and fun, so this seems like a new thing for her.  I really cannot wait to read this, it sounds awesome!  What are you waiting on?

Where Have I Been?

Hey Remarakable Readers,
I know I've disappeared for a little bit.  This time, I had nothing to do with that.  So I apologize and I hope you'll hear me out.  I've been on vacation, but was still planning on posting and blogging.  Unfortunately, I had no idea that my hotel didn't have WiFi.  Normally, I just assume that they do!  So, the only way I could access the internet was through my phone.  Now, I don't know if any of you have ever used the Blogger app, but it's a gigantic pain.  They pretty much want you to spit out HTML and have no tools to edit.  Very annoying, BUT I was going to use it to tell you all that I was internetless so at least you'd have forewarning.   Well, I couldn't do that because I dropped my phone in water that day and now it's become a useless brick.  Anyways, I apologize and I hope I'll be able to return full time to blogging this month! :D

What I read this week:

-A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
-Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
-Ten by Gretchen McNeil (only just started!)

What have you all been up to?!

The Army of Ten

Hey Everyone!

Well a couple of weeks back, I did a book haul which included Ten by Gretchen McNeil, right?  And in that book haul I said that I was super excited for it, right?  Well now I'm even more excited!  "Why?" you ask.  Well keep reading!

During Gretchen McNeil's last release, Possess, she put together an awesome scavenger hunt with really cool prizes for the YA world!  Well, this time she's doing another awesome release!  She's formed The Army of Ten (which I am a part of) which is a street team and promotional network to help get the word out about Ten!  There are tons of awesome prizes to be won and ways to help out.  There is a ranking system for "Soldiers" in the army of Ten and the more work you do, the better your reward!  One of the prizes is having your name in the Acknowledgements of Gretchen's third book!  Super cool, right?  I'm hoping to get that prize!  Anyways, head on over to armyoften.blogspot.com to get started! 

Summer Movie Reviews :)

Hey Remarkable Readers,
A few of you requested that I start reviewing movies so I figured I'd do some mini reviews!  I've been to the movies almost every week this summer because my family gets free movie tickets on tuesdays :) .  I'll probably just do big combined posts during the year reviewing the movies of the season, so here's my Summer Movie Guide!

Brave
Release date: June 22nd

Starring: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connoly, Emma Thompson

Series: No

Rating: PG

Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.

I've always loved Pixar films.  Brave wasn't one of my top favorites, but I did enjoy it!  It was very cute and easily relatable.  The commercials were quite misleading though.  I won't give anything away, however I definitely didn't see any of the plot line coming.  I guess it's nice to be surprised once in a while, though!  I also thought that this movie might've been a little mature to understand for the target audience.  I really liked Merida and all of the characters in the movie.  Great Flick!

Katy Perry: Part of Me

Release date: July 5th

Starring: Katy Perry

Series: No

Rating: PG

A documentary that chronicles Katy Perry's life on and off-stage.

I loved this documentary so much that I went to see it twice in theaters!  At first, my father wasn't ecstatic about going to see it because he thought it'd be more of a "kids" movie, but he ended up loving it!  Our whole family really enjoyed seeing Katy's life story.  The documentary is filmed as a concert movie, documentary, and chronicling of her Teenage Dream tour.  I would go see this again.  After seeing the film, I've become a hard core fan of Katy's.  She really is inspiring and I admire her perseverance through all of the obstacles she's had to deal with.  The movie's also great for a laugh here and there!  A must see!

The Dark Knight Rises
Release date: July 20th

Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway

Series: Yes

Rating: PG-13

Eight years on, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham's finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.

I really liked the first in The Dark Knight series, so I was really excited to see this movie.  Luckily, this series is one of the few that I actually feel live up to the hype.  Although the movie is quite long and a bit difficult to follow, I absolutely loved it!  Anne Hathaway is also one of my favorite actresses so I loved her character in the film and of course Christian Bale always does a great job!  The Dark Knight Rises is a movie you'll want to see, for sure!


The Amazing Spiderman

Release date: July 3rd

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone

Series: Yes

Rating: PG-13

Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner.

     Personally, I thought that the last film in the Spiderman series Spiderman 4 was a complete let-down.  I really didn't enjoy that one, so I wasn't expecting much of this remake as I'd thought that the series had gone down hill.  I was really surprised!  Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone had great chemistry together onscreen.  Although I did find Peter Parker to be a bit too quirky in this edition, I still really enjoyed this movie.

Step Up Revolution

Release date: July 27th
Starring:  Kathryn McCormick, Ryan Guzman, Cleopatra Coleman

Series: Yes

Rating: PG-13


Emily arrives in Miami with aspirations to become a professional dancer. She sparks with Sean, the leader of a dance crew whose neighborhood is threatened by Emily's father's development plans.

I've seen all of the previous Step Up movies before this installment and quite enjoyed them, but unfortunately this one was a let down.  The only part I really liked were the flash mobs.  Otherwise, the movie just seemed very unrealistic to me.  The characters didn't have chemistry and didn't seem real.  I didn't really like this movie much.  Even the dancing wasn't as good as the other movies.

Some Other Movies I've Seen

-The Bourne Legacy

Just Okay

-Men in Black 3

Thumbs Up!

-Total Recall

Thumbs Down!

   

Book Haul {52}

Hey Remarkable Readers!

I actually received quite a lot of unexpected titles in the past two weeks, so I thought I'd share with you what I got!

B O U G H T

Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

F O R  R E V I E W

Random House Imprints

Scarlett Dedd by Cathy Brett

The Stone Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Intentions by Deborah Heiligman

The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton

Suck it Up and Die by Brian Meehl

Touched by Cyn Balog

Under My Hat by Jonathan Strahan

Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle

Diva by Jillian Larkin

Don't You Wish by Roxanne St.Claire

Poison Tree by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Red Heart Tattoo by Lurlene McDaniel

Fury's Fire by Lisa Papademetriou

The Little Woods by McCormick Templeman

Harper Collins Imprints

Carnival of Souls by Marissa Marr

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (not pictured)

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore

Macmillan Imprints

Whispers at Moonrise by C.C. Hunter

So, yeah I definitely got a ton of stuff this week.  I've never gotten anything from Random House before so that was definitely an awesome surprise to have two boxes arrive!  Thanks to Macmillan, Harper Collins, and Random House!  What did you get this week?