Monthly Wrap Up: September 2012

Unfortunately, September didn't go as well as I had been hoping. I started out by reading four books in the first week, and then UnWholly put me in a horrible reading funk because it was just SO. FREAKIN'. GOOD. But I still read loads of awesome books!

Books Read in September:

1. Blackwood by Gwenda Bond (Bland)
2. Storm by Brigid Kemmerer (Essential)
3. Elemental by Brigid Kemmerer (Short)
4. Spark by Brigid Kemmerer (Essential)
5. Survive by Alex Morel (Enjoyable)
6. Breathe by Sarah Crossan (Essential)
7. Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz (Bland)
8. Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin (Essential)
9. UnWholly by Neal Shusterman (All Time Favourite)
10. Black Heart by Holly Black (Enjoyable)

At the time of writing this, I'm also in the middle of reading My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick, so I may have finished that by midnight!

Book of the Month:

Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

I was expecting to love this as much as I did. I mean, I thought I'd like it, sure, but I did not expect to find it AMAAAAAAAZING. You guys, this book is awesome. If you haven't read it yet then I urge you to do so. I would be hosting a giveaway for multiple copies of this book if I could. EVERYONE should read this!

Reviews:

• Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan
• Zom-b by Darren Shan
• Blackwood by Gwenda Bond
• What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang
• Storm by Brigid Kemmerer (BOOK OF THE MONTH WOOOOP!)
• Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz
• Breathe by Sarah Crossan
• Unwind by Neal Shusterman
• UnWholly by Neal Shusterman

Overall, I'd say it was a pretty good month! What did you get up to in September? 

UnWholly by Neal Shusterman

UnWholly by Neal Shusterman
Unwind #2
Release Date: September 27, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books 
Source: Publisher
Rating: All Time Favourite

Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa — and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp — people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simultaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished.

Cam is a product of unwinding; made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds, he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam’s fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he’ll have to question humanity itself.

Rife with action and suspense, this riveting companion to the perennially popular Unwind challenges assumptions about where life begins and ends—and what it means to live. - Goodreads

How do I even begin to review such an amazing book?

As well as Risa, Connor and Lev, there are some new characters that are introduced. There are new antagonists, as well as some old ones. Starkey is one of the new antagonists, and he is the absolute worst. I don't think I've ever hated (or loved to hate) a character as much as him. He is pure evil and he makes me so angry.

There was only one character in this book that I neither liked or loved to hate and that was Cam. I think he'll probably be in the third book, so I am kind of looking forward to what trouble he can cause for Roberta, and he was all right, but I didn't feel connected to him. I often wanted to punch him because he was a spoilt brat. I guess that's not totally his fault, though.

The ending is AMAZING. There was so much action and I was holding my breath. It was like an episode of Spartacus which, by the way, usually give me panic attacks. It was told from several points of view, and that meant that we got to see it from many different angles. It was honestly the most brilliant ending.

I'm so sad because my favourite new character didn't make it. I won't mention this character at all because I don't want to spoil anyone. Just know that someone dies and it made me cry because this someone was flawless.

How on earth is the third book going to bring everything together? I have no doubt that Neal Shusterman will pull it off flawlessly, but I just don't know how. Can I have the next book NOW, please?

Has anyone else read this? I NEEEEEED to find someone to talk about it with, so if you have then leave a comment. This is set to become one of my all time favourite trilogies!

The Unwind trilogy: 

1. Unwind

1.5 UnStrung

2. UnWholly

3. UnSouled

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Unwind #1
Release Date: June 2, 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books
Source: Bought
Rating: All Time Favourite

In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them.

Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.

In Unwind, Boston Globe/Horn Book Award winner Neal Shusterman challenges readers' ideas about life -- not just where life begins, and where it ends, but what it truly means to be alive. - Goodreads

I. Adore. This. Book.

Things I Loved:

- The characters. Each of the main characters is flawlessly (expect to see the word 'flawless' used several times in this review) developed and thought out. Connor, Risa and Lev are all characters I fell in love with, and I love that we got to spend lots of time with each of them.

- The writing style. Honestly, Neal Shusterman's writing is unlike any I've ever read. He's definitely one of the best, and after reading this book I'm definitely compelled to read everything else he's ever written or will ever write. The man is supremely gifted, pure and simple.

- The action. This book was INSANE. There was so much going on, and there isn't any point in which you could put the book down to take a break. Whenever it seems like there isn't going to be anything happening, something explodes.

- The way Shusterman connected everything at the end. It's not often that I read a book in which there are clues and references thrown around form the very beginning. At least, not unless it's in a totally obvious way which doesn't leave me surprised at all. In Unwind, the author puts things in and you don't even realise they are important until later on in the book.

- The dystopian society. Guys. GUYS. This could totally happen in real life if we had the resources to do it! It was creepily realistic in some ways, and like I said I could totally see the government banning abortion. I don't see them allowing kids to be unwound (i.e. pulled apart and donated to needy people), but who knows what people could be pushed into doing?

Things I Hated:

- NOTHING AT ALL BECAUSE THIS BOOK IS FLAWLESS.

What You Should Do:

- BUY THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW. FLAWLESS.

The Unwind trilogy: 

1. Unwind

1.5 UnStrung

2. UnWholly

3. UnSouled

*Note: They've changed the covers because they enjoy causing me pain. I've chosen to feature the old cover because that's what copy I own, but the new ones are awesome and you can see the new cover for Unwind in the Amazon link above!

WoW: Shadowlands by Kate Brian

Shadowlands by Kate Brian
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Publisher: Hyperion
Goodreads

Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Breathe by Sarah Crossan
Breathe #1
Release Date: October 11, 2012 (UK)
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Source: Publisher
Rating: Essential

When oxygen levels plunge in a treeless world, a state lottery decides which lucky few will live inside the Pod. Everyone else will slowly suffocate. Years after the Switch, life inside the Pod has moved on. A poor Auxiliary class cannot afford the oxygen tax which supplies extra air for running, dancing and sports. The rich Premiums, by contrast, are healthy and strong. Anyone who opposes the regime is labelled a terrorist and ejected from the Pod to die. Sixteen-year-old Alina is part of the secret resistance, but when a mission goes wrong she is forced to escape from the Pod. With only two days of oxygen in her tank, she too faces the terrifying prospect of death by suffocation. Her only hope is to find the mythical Grove, a small enclave of trees protected by a hardcore band of rebels. Does it even exist, and if so, what or who are they protecting the trees from? A dystopian thriller about courage and freedom, with a love story at its heart. - Goodreads

Daph read this months and months ago, and I had been absolutely DYING to read it after she recommended it to me. I'm so happy and grateful that I received a review copy from the publisher so I could read it sooner than I would have normally, even if it was only a month earlier! 

Breathe was everything I was expecting, although nothing more. The plot was engaging enough. It was told from three points of view: Alina's, Bea's and Quinn's. I applaud Crossan's decision to do this, as it really gave us a view of three different societal structures inside this world. Quinn is a rich guy whose father is high up in the government, and so he has never had to know what it's like to live on limited resources of air. Bea is his best friend who is poorer, so she lives in a different section of the pod. Alina is a rebel, and that's all I'm going to say about her. I loved every one of them, and while I do think Alina made some silly decisions (which ticked me off at the time), I think it worked well to get the story going and for a bit of character growth.

Sarah Crossan's writing style is what really sets this book apart from the rest. The storyline that pretty much followed the same set outline as most dystopian novels, making the plot itself generic and predictable. But Crossan's writing style swooped in and saved the day, hooking me in from the very first page. The way the words flowed off the page was fabulous, and I am DEFINITELY going to be checking out her other works because she's very talented.

My absolute favourite thing about the novel was the world it is set in. This along with the writing style made for fantastic reading. There is nothing more scary than a world without air, and the thought of having people control your air supply is terrifying. There were times as I was reading when I felt claustrophobic and as though I was the one without enough oxygen. It was amazing.

There is a love triangle in Breathe, but I think it's handled very, VERY well in comparison to most. It didn't feel as though it was in there just for the sake of it. It pushed the characters onto their correct paths and made for some excellent realisations towards the end. I also love that it wasn't a 'I-Will-Die-For-You' thing for all the characters involved in the triangle. I hate that. One of the characters didn't even have feelings for the one who had a crush on them, so that was something new and refreshing as well. 

Overall, this is a brilliant book. It's not an all-time favourite purely because, like I said, the plot was average and predictable. But the world building and the writing were some of the best, so I'll definitely be reading the second book to see where that takes us. I recommend this to everyone, obviously.

The Breathe series:

1. Breathe

2. Resist (2013)