Weekend Reads #7

For anyone who viewed my blog this time last year will know that over the course of the summer I reread the Harry Potter series and reviewed each book individually. Well, almost each book. For some reason, once I finished The Deathly Hallows I didn't stick up a review and, whilst I could easily review it without having to reread it for the 100th time, I'm going to anyway. It's been a slow reading month due to my preparations for uni so finding a little comfort in Harry Potter is just what I need. So the book I'm going to tackle this weekend is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by the one and only J.K. Rowling.

As it's such a massive book it'd be more than ambitious to try and finish it over the weekend and find time to start another book. I could easily finish it over the weekend if it was the first time reading it but I always go a little slower with rereads because it's not quite as exciting as the very first time. But then again it's Harry Potter so who knows?

I will however, despite losing my notes on it, try and get my review of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline done at some point this weekend. It's not that it's not a brilliant book and can't do the review without the notes, I just like to take notes down as I go along so I know I've included everything I need to say. If you're a reviewer you'll understand haha; so be sure to look out for that. Until then, why not visit my Harry Potter tag and check out my reviews of the previous 6 books in the series here!

The Seckry Sequence: The Trinity Awakening - Joseph Evans

"It's Seckry Sevenstars second year at Eastergate Institute, and things are already shaping up to be just as eventful as the first; a revolting looking Nasty has appeared in the Food Grabber machine, a new lesson called fringe science has been added to his timetable, Mrs Cutson is acting more sadistic than ever, the twenty eighth Friction Mega Meltdown is fast approaching and two exchange students from Norsegate have arrived, causing trouble and provoking Seckry and his friends.

With homework mounting and Friction training at its most intense, Seckry has very little time for distractions, but soon Seckry is forced to rethink everything he knew about Eiya’s existence, whilst also trying to uncover the truth behind his father's mysterious disappearance. And, in his quest for answers, Seckry unearths long forgotten secrets buried within the school grounds."

The Trinity Awakening picks up shortly after the conclusion of City of the Falling Sky on the date of Seckry's sixteenth birthday. That, however, isn't before Evans opens the novel with an explosive prologue which really sets the tone for the book. He wastes no time in boring the reader with a predictable build-up and instead grips and engrosses you from the get go, intertwining twists even the smartest of nickpickers wouldn't see coming. The start of the book also brings a good reintroduction of key characters and visitation of past events, meaning, unlike many series that have a substantial wait between releases, you don't need to read up on a detailed synopsis to refresh your mind of the world.

Overall, I found this book so much more haunting and thrilling than the latter, stretching the YA genre by making it into something more than just love triangles, heroines and oppressive capitalism. It's clear that Evans has worked hard on linking every book in the series, looking towards the next book whilst writing the current one. This allows questions from Falling Sky to be answered in this book, whilst also introducing new mysteries and narrative arcs that, surprisingly, given the size of the world that Evans has created, stick in your mind - there never seems to be any loose ends.

The exploration of characters and the developing relationship between Seckry and Eiya is an element of this book I truly admired; I even found myself gushing at times. I particularly enjoyed the growing relationship between Vance and Seckry as over the course of the series Vance has become an essential father figure in Seckry's life and it'll be interesting to see where it goes as the series continues.

Despite having complimented Evans before on his use of imagination and descriptive techniques, they're something I have to mention again as there's nothing more exciting than reading a world that's so well constructed and exciting to devour. Each chapter is so beautifully cinematic that even the tiniest of details play out in my head with little effort. There's a lot of different things unfolding in the first half of the book, which, admittedly, can be a little confusing to keep track of at times. However, nothing that is mentioned or occurs is for the sake of filling pages, which is what I love about Evans' writing. There's a constant incorporation of cleverly linked events throughout that you don't take much notice of at the time because they appear minor to the story, yet later become a vital and intriguing part, again creating unpredictability.

Although very few could question its necessity to the story, simply because, as of yet, it hasn't helped in the unravelling of any mysteries, I for one love Evans' creation of the Friction game and Mega Meltdown. The game in general brings a bit of fun and a good distraction from the serious more darker themes of the story. It's safe to say I was quite the role-playing nerd when I was younger so I find it quite nostalgic to read, not to mention that I want nothing more than to play it. At the same time however it was nice to see that there wasn't much focus on it as it was established so largely in the first book that had there been any more of it in this book it would have lost its sense of excitement.

What stood out most however is the climax of the book. It definitely has one of those I don't know what to do with myself endings, giving me quite the 'book hangover', which I loved - there's nothing better than reading a book that leaves such a lasting impression.

It's safe to say that I loved reading this book. It's exhilarating, unpredictable, fun and even pulls a little on your heartstrings. I even found myself craving the third book so I could read it straight after finishing this one. Speaking of, whilst no release date has been announced as of yet, you can check out the teaser trailer for The Seckry Sequence: Fate of the Fractured here - however I strongly advise avoiding it until you've read the first two books!

I give Joseph Evans and The Seckry Sequence: The Trinity Awakening

Gone - Michael Grant

"A small town in Southern California: In the blink of an eye everyone over the age of 15 disappears. Cut off from the outside world, those that are left are trapped, and there's no help on the way. Chaos rules the streets.

Now a new world order is rising and, even scarier, some survivors have power - mutant power that no one has ever seen before..."

Gone by Michael Grant follows the story of everyone under the age of 15, predominantly the protagonist, Sam Temple, as they face a world they could never have imagined. In the blink of an eye everyone over the age of 15 disappears, leaving Sam and the girl he's in love with, Astrid, along with every other remaining child, to fend for themselves in a new world full of mutations, betrayal and a lurking darkness.

In all honesty, the first time I read this book in the summer of 2012 I didn't particularly like it. I found it difficult to get into, tedious to read when I could and it didn't make me any more of a fan of the sci-fi genre. Gone simply felt like something I had read before, as well as seen in films, despite it being a brilliant concept. Having said that, this year I figured I'd give the series another shot now that all the books have been released and, whilst my judgement the second time round remained slightly clouded by my first experience with this novel, my opinion did change for the better.

On the whole, I found the pacing of this novel generally enjoyable and exciting to read, although it did occasionally fall flat and didn't quite meet my expectations. Having said that however, it has a rather impressive premise, á la Lord of the Flies meets X-Men, that stretches the YA genre through Grant's shocking and cruel use of imagery that isn't quite Saw-gruesome, but does make you cringe and wince over his use of descriptive techniques and his clear desire to present the harshness of this new, dark world in a way that many authors have avoided in fear of not drawing their younger target audience in. It does however feel like Grant could have done more with the story as I felt that the middle of the book was more of a filler as opposed to part of the novel.

I found the characters in this novel a bit of a mixed bag, some of them I liked, even loved, others I found boring and frustrating; unfortunately Sam Temple was one of those characters. Although I'm appreciative of the fact that his character is only 14-years-old, I found his entire 'I'm not trying to be the hero nor do I want to be the hero' charade irksome and pointless when it's clear that he's well aware that he is Perido Beach's only hope - there's also the small matter of him continually ending up in scenarios which result in him being branded the hero. It was also confusing to see him accept the fact that Astrid 'The Genius' perceived him as a hero and the person who should take charge of the situation, yet continue to moan and complain when either trait came into play for him or another character perceived and treated him in the same way. Astrid on the other hand was a character I loved. It's great when you find female characters, particularly within the sci-fi genre, that aren't oppressed tertiary or secondary characters and, instead, stand for being everything other than the pretty damsel in distress. Her character is beyond intelligent, maternal and carries the traits of a natural born leader and I love that in any and every character.

It's clear that whilst Grant put a lot of effort into creating this world and interlinking the narrative and creating arks for the later novels, it does become a little cliché at times, which I think is common within the YA genre. Whilst I appreciate Grant's desire to illuminate typical teenage problems and how that just because the world has changed doesn't mean their problems have suddenly diminished, I felt that I was, at times, reading something like Pretty Little Liars or The Vampire Diaries with over-dramatic, unnecessary, predictable twists.

However, what's particularly interesting about this novel is despite it primarily focusing on Sam, it occasionally changes perspective to other characters who appear to take prominence later on in the book and, I assume, later in the series. I liked how the story often backtracks a little when coming to focus on another character as it sheds light for the reader on the current situation, giving an understanding of more than just one perspective as well as allowing the narrative to move in different directions by enlightening you in each character's thought process. At the same time however, the switch on character focus can confuse the story a little as one minute you could be making your way through a fast-paced chapter which focuses on one character, then the pace suddenly ceases in the next chapter, landing you with a character in a completely different situation that you haven't met before or are unfamiliar with, so it definitely takes some getting used to.

I think it would be safe to say that the climax is so much more satisfying to read than the rest of the book. It's exhilarating, allowing your imagination to run wild, as a multitude of events take place simultaneously. The themes of death and horror prevail in the climax, lasting a few chapters instead of just a couple of pages, and presenting an ending that actually makes me want to read the sequel, Hunger, as opposed to wanting to put it off as I expected it to.

Overall, this is a story about children trying to adapt to and survive in a new, frightening world that offers great opportunity for action-packed scenes and excitement, yet, unfortunately, sometimes falls short due to irksome characters, a sudden change in character focus or the dominance of typical teenage drama. This series definitely has a lot of potential but Gone doesn't quite push it.

I give Michael Grant and Gone

Guess Who's Back, Back Again..

I think it's safe to say, given my sheer lack of dedication so far this year, that I'm probably one of, if not the most, unreliable blogger as of late. I have a tendency to set myself unrealistic goals in terms of when I can come back to the world of blogging and, whilst returning straight after my exams was initially realistic, I decided against it when my grandfather sadly passed away just a couple of weeks ago.

Whilst a horrible experience to go through, I think grieving is important, giving ourselves time to adjust and to accept the reality of the situation. It's taking me longer than expected because I was so close to my grandfather, but I think it's finally time to return and get back to what I enjoy; reading and reviewing.

Since my last post I've unfortunately only gotten through two books, The Seckry Sequence: The Trinity Awakening by Joseph Evans, as well as finally getting round to rereading Gone by Michael Grant as I want to continue with the series, despite pretty much hating Gone the first time around. I'm in the middle of writing up reviews for both so hopefully one will be with you Monday and the other in the middle of the week.

I'm also hoping, given that I have two whole months until I start university (which might I add I'm stupidly excited for), that I make general posts more often, with the belief that for some strange reason one or two of you might actually care about what's going on in my life.

Anyway I think I'll cut this post short. I always find that when I actually come to writing that I forget 95% of what I was going to say. Ah well, not to worry eh? Be sure to check back Wednesday evening (UK) for my review of Gone!

Where have I been?

For those of you who check my blog on a regular basis (I doubt anyone does) or are a new visitor, you'll notice I haven't posted since the end of April. Well, unfortunately for me, it's that horrible time of year again when I have to give up all hopes of a social life, hobbies and reading in order to focus on my examinations.

Luckily for me however, these are my A2 exams so after June 19th I'm officially free for three months, until I (hopefully) head off to The University of West England in the middle of September to study journalism and media. Another great thing is, if I do get into UWE, I'll have no exams throughout my three years as an undergraduate, which means that my A2s could potentially be the last time I ever have to pick up a book and revise, woo!

Once June 19th has come and gone I should (hopefully) have two reviews ready to write and publish, one of the second book in Joseph Evans' 'Seckry Sequence' series called 'The Trinity Awakening' and the other being 'Ready Player One' by Ernest Cline. You didn't honestly think I wouldn't be doing a sneaky bit of reading in my breaks haha?

So, until then, I doubt you'll be seeing any of me so best-of-luck to any of you who are currently in the same situation as me, let's hope it's all worth the effort eh? See you in a couple of weeks!