Sleepless

Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Source: Delacorte Press

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Eron is a Sandman, one who lightly murmurs sweet nothings into the ears of his charges and lightly dust them with sand for he helps them sleep at night. Or shall I say, the one who makes them fall asleep. It's been almost a hundred years since he died and became a Sandman and now his time is almost up. Eron finally has a chance to become a human again and tackle any unfinished business. But first he has to has to train Griffin to become a Sandman and take over his charges. Now Eron is balancing being a human and a Sandman.

Julia is somehow in the middle of this. Julia has always been one of Eron's charges since she was a child. The only thing is, Julia was Griffin's girlfriend when he died.

Griffin is having trouble dealing with this new sort of rules of not touching, no talking, and definitely no more interacting in her life outside of her dreams. 

Sleepless was a novel that I was wanting for to be released ever since I read Fairy Tale (previously know as Fairy Lust), which was quite some time ago. Sleepless had a synopsis that was strange, though in a good way, that immediately made me curious and definitely excited after having a taste at Balog's debut novel; which I found to be a fun read so I expected a wow book from Sleepless. Yet Sleepless irked me in some way or another. It hit some spots on the nail, but many times the hammer missed and struck the thumb.

Reasons why I liked Sleepless:

1. Originality. Like I said previously, Sandmen is an uncharted area that I had never read about. That alone would make me curious enough to pick up Sleepless.

2. A flare for the dramatics. Balog tries to push to the extremes in most cases. Kudos for trying.

3. The format of the novel. I realize that this has nothing to do with the actual story, but the novel alternates between Eron and Julia. For Julia's point of view, there would be the flower (same as the cover flower) at the bottom right hand corner of the first page (like the cover). For Eron's point of view, there would be a moon (same as the cover moon) at the top left hand corner (like the corner). This is awesome, you guys, in person.

4. Usually when a novel tries to be mysterious I usually try to solve it and am about 70% right. It was not the case with Sleepless. Was so wrong and so many counts for Sleepless.

Reason why I had trouble liking Sleepless:

1. I found both Julia and Eron naive. Not in the adorable, child-like way, but a frustrating way that I would have thought experience would teach. (In a irreverent note: Julia wears Crocs. Not my prefer sense of style shoe, but it was hot back a couple years ago so it would make sense in the novel. Read right now, it's outdated for teens to wear Crocs.)

2. Griffin is a giant brute. Any redeeming quality or any quality worthy of sympathizing with is thrown out of the window. First person narrative is extremely frustrating because I needed to know what made Griffin, Griffin. His hostility, his anger, his attitude of "telling it how it is" was constant throughout the entire novel made it odd when he, out of no where, becomes vulnerable. Is there a deeper sense to him than meets the eye? I am not sure because there is nothing about Griffin that is explained.

3. It was strange how Eron has spent the last century in the world and somehow not managed to pick up any of the technology, clothing trends, or colloquialism. Was there an explanation about this because I do recall that it was mentioned that Eron follows his charges around in case they are in need of a nap. If so I must have missed the middle line.

4. I found the ending unsatisfying. It was anticlimactic (anyone else wanted someone to throw a punch of two?), a bit unbelievable, and a bit unclear. It was like blowing up a balloon and instead of exploding, it just deflated.

Cover C+

Sleepless is out now: Amazon / Book Depository

P.S. I wonder why is that male Sandmen have female charges whereas female Sandmen have male charges....

Manga Monday: Hana Kimi

Hana Kimi by Hisaya Nakajo

Other Titles: For You in Full Blossom / Hanazakari no Kimitachi e
Serialized: Viz Media
Genre: Drama, Shoujo, Gender Bender*, Romance, Comedy, (slight) sports
Art: 3.5 stars
Plot: 4 stars 
Characters: 3.8 stars
Other: Live Drama (Japanese and Taiwanese)
Volumes: 23

"Japanese-American track-and-field star Mizuki is transferring to a high school in Japan...but not just any high school! To be close to her idol, high jumper Izumi Sano, she's going to an all-guys' high school...and disguising herself as a boy! But as fate would have it, they're more than classmates...they're roommates! Now, Mizuki must keep her secret in the classroom, the locker room, and her own bedroom. And her classmates, and the weird school nurse, must react to the new transfer student who looks like a very pretty boy..."--from Amazon

Hana Kimi is a great way to ease into manga. It is a simple, light-hearted, fun read.The plot can sometimes drag a bit, and on some levels, be highly unrealistic. Even so, without a doubt, Hana Kimi is one of my favorite shoujo manga thus far. It is also a great read for tweens.

*Gender Bender refers to a character playing or sometimes "transforming" into the opposite gender. In this case, Mizuki is pretending to be a boy hence the gender bender. Hana Kimi is one of the more safer gender bender tales and probably a good place to start if you are interested in this genre. Some mangas can get...weird.

Vol. 1 / Vol. 2 / Vol. 3 / Vol. 4 / Vol. 5 / Vol. 6 / Vol. 7 /  Vol. 8 / Vol. 9 / Vol. 10 / Vol. 11 / Vol. 12 / Vol. 13 / Vol. 14 / Vol. 15 / Vol. 16 / Vol. 17 / Vol. 18 / Vol. 19 / Vol. 20 / Vol. 21 / Vol. 22 / Vol. 23

Bargain Books (5)

Found some great finds! Hopefully they are still in stock!

Tell Me Who by Jessica Wollman

Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle

GirlForce by Nikki Goldstein

The Girls by Tucker Shaw

The Heights by Brian James

Jungle Crossing by Sydney Salter / love Salter!

Need by Carrie Jones

The Year My Sister Got Lucky by Aimee Friedman

The Stormholder by Tricia Boone and Melissa Thomas

Switched by Jessica Wollman

Waves by Sharon Dogar

Fancy White Trash by Marjetta Geerling

Bargain Books ~ 1

Bargain Books ~ 2

Bargain Books ~ 3

Bargain Books ~ 4

Books By Its Cover Week 3

Week 3's prompt:

Mutated slime

Tendrils search,

Then embed.

*For more information about Books by its Cover click here.*

Only the Good Spy Young

Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter

Source: Hyperion

Grade: 4 stars out of 5

Only the Good Spy Young is the fourth installment by New York Times Bestselling author Ally Carter, but by now you should know this. The novel immediately takes off where the last ended. There is not of a recap so I would recommend rereading the third before the fourth since it plays a crucial role. 

Cammie is back for a new session of school yet one teacher is missing. This teacher is a double agent who is working for The Circle. The Circle recruits young spies in training from schools like The Gallagher School for Exceptional Women. Cammie does not know what to do anymore after this new information except for maybe...spying. She and the gang will use their skills to uncover the truth.

One thing that I love about Ally Carter is her consistency. She releases a book a year and each time the novel leaves a sense of satisfaction yet leaving with a small cliffhanger. However it is quite frustrating because the novels are so small and inches the plot slowly.


Cammie, Bex, Macey, and Liz are back with more spy tricks at their sleeves. Zach is also back being mysterious as always. Each character as always play well from one another and their surroundings. There is always something distinctive, likable, and trustworthy about them that makes reading Only the Good Spy Young so entertaining.

In this installment there are more twists than you can count on one hand making this installment the most fun. It also features more extreme environments and a few of the old comfortable ones. Joy ride!

Only the Good Spy Young, for those romantics out there, does go further into the odd relationship of Cam and Zach.

Cover A

Only the Good Spy Young is available for order

Infinite Days

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel


Source: ARC from St. Martin's Griffin


Grade: 1.8 stars out of 5

Lenah is one of the oldest vampires with a coven at her beck and whim. But Lenah is slowly losing herself, her sanity, to age. She has just one wish...to turn human. She wants to live again: touch, taste, smell again. Rhode, her lover and the one who turned her, is going to help fulfill her wish at the cost of his own life.

A hundred years later Lenah finds herself waking up in an environment and a completely new society, but a ultimately a new school. With less than a day left with Rhoda prefer he parish, he teaches Lenah what he could about the new place and its expectations.

But the coven knows that Lenah is now human and they will track her then kill her. And they will not hesitate to use Justin, a guy that makes Lenah feel alive, to lure her.

SPOILERS MAY BE BELOW (because when I rant I tend to let things slip)

Infinite Days is surely a disappointment on my end. My biggest issue was Lenah. I find her behavior not reflecting centuries worth of knowledge. I find her extremely shallow, somewhat childish, and unbelievable. The novel is also told in first person narration. This is the part where I would take out the copy of Infinite Days and quote lines with its appropriate pages, but I cannot seem to find my copy and I am 90% that I accidentally shipped the book in someone's package. To the recipient of the book, enjoy! To me, crap; this is going to be a weak argument.

When we are first introduced to Justin, Maizel describes his brothers. She describes the younger as pudgy; the older brother a little thicker; and Justin with his wash-board abs as a Greek god. (I really wish I had my ARC to double this!) That line ticked me off so much because, although there is barely anything about the brothers aside from that little fact, I believe that all three brothers share the same activities. So how is Justin the only gorgeous one? Between Lenah just happens to be beyond gorgeous with all the guys staring at her walk past. Perfect match eh?

Then there is how much Lenah knows about the modern world. Despite having less than 24 hours, perhaps less than 12 hours, she seems to know an awful lot of today. There is a line that I can recall, not with exact clarity, that Tony, a new acquittance to Lenah asks; it mentioned something about 'I hope you're not one of those girls who date only rich guys who play extreme sports and drive fancy cars'. (I really, really wish I had that ARC right now!) Lenah replies back in her mind how she barely understood half of that sentence. That I had trouble believing. For one thing, car is not the problem seeing as how she learns about cars from Rhode and receives one the following morning. Aside from that I do not understand what part of the sentence she has trouble comprehending. That are parts where I understand why she cannot understand, then there are times where I struggle to accept how she knows about that.

Then there is her love of Rhode. Lenah mentions that whenever a vampire loves, they give up a piece of them, so it's an extremely strong love yes? Yet why I do I feel as though she barely remembers or properly mourn for Rhode? Why does Lenah throw the urn of Rhode's ash? She could have placed the urn back to its place and threw another vase. It is at though Lenah is not as deserving of Rhode's sacrifice.

But just her love with Justin I need more. They both seem to throw caution out the window and love with a passion. I need more depth of why Justin seems to be the one (well the next one). Justin seems to be nothing impressive and unremarkable except being hot. At least with Tony I find there to be a good enough reason why they would together as a couple.

I did, however, like the transition from past to present. The ending was also a shocker!
 
Cover B-/C+

Infinite Days releases early next month in paperback form.

Freak Magnet

Freak Magnet by Andrew Auseon

Source: Harper Teen

Grade: 3.8 stars out of 5

Have you ever lived on the edge? Where your highs reached the peaks of the mountains and your lows reached the depths of the ocean? That sums up Charlie quite nicely. Charlie's isn't what you could call the "best" customer service because his mouth gets the best of him at times—always speaking more than needed, and most of the time, more than he should. That's why when Charlie spots the most beautiful girl that he has ever seen, he just has to tell her that. Even if that means chasing her down the street and around the corner screaming at the top of his lungs "GIRL!"

Gloria should be used to this after all she's just a magnet for strangers. Strangers who come to her and hand her random things or just saying the oddest things. She likes to call them freaks. And Charlie is the next freak drawn to this magnet.

But things aren't as they appear. Charlie loves astronomy as a means of escaping reality. A reality where his mother has been diagnosed with Huntington's disease since he was the age of 7. And Gloria who continues to mark down her memories in poetry, cooping with her brother's death, and a mother who just does not understand her.

Freak Magnet starts out with a high: energetic, loud, in your face. Downhill it goes. The further the novel is read, the higher the peak reaches until the inevitable happens. Gravity finally takes over and things begin to fall down. This course narration reveals the depth of inner insanity. Self denial: I am fine, I am okay. But that denial crumbles with various shocks: the progression of the disease, or the meeting of Charlie. Pieces are hard to pick up—jagged, sharp pieces—that requires a careful touch. Something that only family that can pick up the first piece. Saddening, tender, and fitting so well with the general storyline, these two past and current stories brought a further depth into the tale.

Charlie and Gloria are opposites in personality and appearance. Charlie is full of life, bubbly, with too much energy that it seems as though his eyes are flickering (who also happens to wear a Superman outfit below his clothes). Gloria is solemn, preferring to live her life in her brother's old car, surrounding herself in dirt and her duvet. Opposites attract they always say. Watching these two, their antics bring a grin from the readers' face. However I feel as though Charlie carries the weight of their relationship/friendship.

As I said the lows were ocean low. Toward the end I felt Charlie extremely unlikable, but a part of me understood his actions. There was also the case for the ending itself. Imagine just gazing at the setting sun, perfect. What about tomorrow though? Where will they be? Can they last? What about the families?

Freak Magnet makes me want to Auseon's other novels now.

Cover C

You can order Freak Magnet now.

X Isle

X Isle by Steve Augarda

Source: David Fickling Books

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

There's only one way out of the mainland and that's to X Isle.

A flood overtook the world, killing both Baz's mother and sister, and billions of others in the world. It left towns, cities, and humans submerged underwater cutting the remaining few left alive with basic of basics. Now with just his father, Baz struggles to get by each day where everything has become scarce and pasta has become the newest form of currency. But the stench of the surrounding death and the harsh environment of thievery is too much to take care not only yourself, but a child at that. Now families send their sons to X Isle, a shortened name from Eck Island, where it is promised to a land of sanctuary compared to the mainland. The only way to get to X Isle is by boat when the crew stops every so often to trade goods.

The boys need to be small and thin and most barter for their voyage for the crew only picks up one, but usually none. They barter with rare items: fresh meat, cartridges, cornflakes, chocolate. The crew this time has asked to allot two boys for this trip to X Isle. The chosen two: Baz and Ray.

Now Baz takes this trip where he hopes will give him a brighter future. That is, before he dies. X Isle is not the land of the promising as Baz slowly realizes when the group of young boys on X Isle show him the ropes and the truth.

Originally published in the UK, X Isle has crossed the small pond and into the hands of US readers. (However, the novel is still quite in its original format so there is still British slang and humor as well as single quotation marks rather than double.) Told in third-person limited narrative, X Isle tells of a dystopic world where the modern world has transcended backwards to the days without the Internet or electricity at that.

Despites its rather large font, X Isle reads like a typical 500 paged novel: long. X Isle focuses mainly on character development and the rules, environment, and daily life of the island. The action, such as human sacrifice, and the giant shocker occurs at the end of the novel so hopes and attention spans do not fear.

The novel is read more in paragraphs rather than dialogues so it quickly becomes mind-numbing. The descriptions go in-depth and while boring may be a strong word to used, the heat wave combined with the words had me struggling to pay closer attention. However, this could easy be a factor because this not my type of novel. X Isle, to me I quickly realized, seemed to be a possible candidate of what I should read for middle grade.

X Isle uses symbolism and motifs/themes quite frequently. The flood, Preacher John, the goat, the two rabbits, the school of mackerels, the fishing spool, and of course the nicknames are all things that can be dissected and scrutinized for their hidden meanings. The characters as well can be torn apart by the teachers and asked to be described by the students in essay form (with proper citation).

But what makes X Isle worth-while and most fascinating to me is the brutality of the "villains". It is the cold heartless actions that I found gripping and the companionship of friends fighting for survival endearing. 

Despite my feelings during the reading process, I am left away with a grand sense of satisfaction. X Isle is a hefty read that is suited more to the MG readers interested in Lord of the Flies, The Maze Runner, Holes (ironic in comparison with X Isle isn't it).

Cover B

You can order X-Isle now.

P.S. Does anyone else love the title? X Isle ... Exile. This is definitely making my list of favorite titles.