WHY I READ MURAKAMI + REVIEW

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
by Haruki Murakami
Vintage International | August 2015

     In this hyperkinetic and relentlessly inventive novel, Japan’s most popular (and controversial) fiction writer hurtles into the consciousness of the West. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World draws readers into a narrative particle accelerator in which a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his shockingly undemure granddaughter, Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect. What emerges is simultaneously cooler than zero and unaffectedly affecting, a hilariously funny and deeply serious meditation on the nature and uses of the mind.

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY | MCR'S GERARD WAY?!

The Umbrella Academy 

by Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá
Dave Stewart (Colourist), Nate Piekos (Letterer), Tony Ong (Designer)
Dark Horse Comics | October 17, 2007

   In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born to women who'd previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, "To save the world."
   These seven children form the Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Their first adventure at the age of ten pits them against an erratic and deadly Eiffel Tower, piloted by the fearsome zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel. Nearly a decade later, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again.

DAY ZERO REVIEW

Before I dive into the actual review, I want to let you know that I partnered up/I am part of SocialBookCo' Book Review Programme, it's my first time working with them. SocialBookCo is a "mini company/website" that compares books from all vendors and it's supposed to help help you save money on books. They work with Amazon, eBay, Book Depository, Waterstones, etc. I do get a small commission-from 2-4%, depending on the retailer-every time you click on my link and purchase the book I'm reviewing.

Today, I'll be reviewing DAY ZERO by Kresley Cole

(Click on DAY ZERO ^ to purchase book)

NOT-YOUR-MAMA'S GRAPHIC NOVELS

Saga (Volumes #1-6)
by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples (Artist)
Image Comics | October 23, 2012
I recommend this with a passion!  

        When two soldiers, Marko and Alana, from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.

 It's a 4.5 because I wasn't thrilled with the plot direction, but it's great nonetheless. I can't stop forcing this book unto people and saying it's great, really.

MY FIRST GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW | GORGEOUS

Monstress (Single Issues #1-6)
by Marjorie M. Liu & Sana Takeda (illustrator)
Image Comics | November 4, 2015

       Steampunk meets Kaiju-Japanese genre involving monsters [attacking cities]-in this original fantasy epic for mature readers.
       As young Maika risks everything to control her psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, placing her in the center of a devastating war between human and otherworldly forces.

Overall Rating:

 

THE SCORPION RULES

The Scorpion Rule (Prisoners of Peace #1)

by Erin Bow

McElderry | September 22, 2015

DNF @ somewhere around 50%

       The world is at peace, said the Utterances. And really, if the odd princess has a hard day, is that too much to ask?
       Greta is a duchess and crown princess-and a hostage to peace. This is how the game is played: if you want to rule, you must give one of your children as a hostage. Go to war and your hostage dies.
       Greta will be free if she can survive until her eighteenth birthday. Until then she lives in the Precepture school with the daughters and sons of the world’s leaders. Like them, she is taught to obey the machines that control their lives. Like them, she is prepared to die with dignity, if she must. But everything changes when a new hostage arrives. Elián is a boy who refuses to play by the rules, a boy who defies everything Greta has ever been taught. And he opens Greta’s eyes to the brutality of the system they live under-and to her own power.
       As Greta and Elián watch their nations tip closer to war, Greta becomes a target in a new kind of game. A game that will end up killing them both-unless she can find a way to break all the rules.

THE LAST OF IT | ALL IS SWELL

1Q84 (1Q84 #1-3)
by Haruki Murakami
Vintage International | January 22, 2013
Status: ALL 1,157 PAGES!

      The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.
      A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 - “Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled.
      As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.
      A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s - 1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

THE UNNECESSARY PART II | 1Q84

1Q84 (1Q84 #1-3)
by Haruki Murakami
Vintage International | January 22, 2013
Status: Part 1+2 complete

      The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.
      A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 - “Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled.
      As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.
      A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s - 1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

THAT TOOK A WHILE... | PART I

1Q84 (1Q84 #1-3)
by Haruki Murakami
Vintage International | January 22, 2013
Status: Part 1 complete

      The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.
      A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 - “Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled.
      As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.
      A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s - 1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

FOR GAMERS & BOOK NERDS

Arena by Holly Jennings
Publishing Info: Ace | April 5, 2016

Status: Complete
Source: NetGalley eArc

         Every week, Kali Ling fights to the death on national TV. She’s died hundreds of times. And it never gets easier...
         The RAGE tournaments-the Virtual Gaming League’s elite competition where the best gamers in the world compete in a no-holds-barred fight to the digital death. Every bloody kill is broadcast to millions. Every player is a modern gladiator-leading a life of ultimate fame, responsible only for entertaining the masses.
         And though their weapons and armor are digital, the pain is real.
         Chosen to be the first female captain in RAGE tournament history, Kali Ling is at the top of the world-until one of her teammates overdoses. Now, she must confront the truth about the tournament. Because it is much more than a game-and even in the real world, not everything is as it seems.
         The VGL hides dark secrets. And the only way to change the rules is to fight from the inside...

Ten Thousand Skies Above You

Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird #2)
Author: Claudia Gray
Publish Date: November 3, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen

         Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse-even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions. 
         Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared.

The Divide Review

The Divide (Dreamland #2)
by E.J. Mellow
Publish Date: October 15, 2015

        Molly finally uncovers the truth about the strange dreams that plagued her sanity for weeks. Now destined to accept a clandestine role, Molly must find the strength and courage buried deep to push forward and succeed.
        With the help of Dev, the roguish blue-eyed man of her dreams, whose dark past resurfaces to haunt him. Molly prepares to test the limits of her newly awakened powers and set right a world on the edge of being consumed by nightmares.
        But when an unknown shadow stalks her every step and a shocking revelation about her ancestry comes to light, Molly may find herself forced to make a decision that could leave her alone in the dark and standing on the wrong side of a divide.

End of Days Review

End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days #3)

by Susan Ee

Publish Date: May 12, 2015
Publisher: Skyscape

     After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn's sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe's past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.
     When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

The Dreamer Review

The Dreamer (The Dreamland Series #1) by E.J. Mellow

Age Range: There's mildly steamy scenes and explicit words. But, teens can read this because I know a teen boy who read 50SOG.
Publishing: Four Eyed Owl May 15, 2015
Rating: yes. THAT CLIFFHANGER!

          It’s night. Always night. Dreams guard against the evil forged by nightmares. Infinite shooting stars illuminate a moonless sky. A city stands alone, surrounded by a darkened field. On its fringes, a man watches one star separate from the masses and fall. What survives the crash will unveil a secret centuries long hidden.
          Molly hasn't slept well since the night of her twenty-fourth birthday. Being struck by lightning might have something to do with it, but then again, her chicken did look a little under-cooked at dinner. Whatever the culprit, her life quickly catapults from mundane to insane as, night after night, Molly is transported through her once dreamless sleep to a mysterious land illuminated by shooting stars.
          There she meets the captivating but frustrating Dev, and together they discover Molly possesses a power coveted by his people-the ability to conjure almost anything she desires into existence. Seduced by the possibilities of this gift, Molly shifts her attention from waking life toward the man, the magic, and the world found in her dreams.
          But Molly must ask herself-does something truly exist if you only see it when you close your eyes?
          Faced with the threat of losing everything-her job, best friend, boyfriend, and most importantly, that little thing called her sanity-Molly will learn just how far she’ll go to uncover what is real and what is merely a figment of her imagination.

World After Review

World After (Penryn & the End of Days)

by Susan Ee

Publishing: Skyscrape in January 1, 2013

          When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.
          Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.
          Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

Red Queen Review

Red Queen (Red Queen Trilogy #1) by Victoria Aveyard (383 pages)
Publishing: HarperTeen on February 10, 2015

Throne of Glass Review

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1)
by Sarah J. Maas
Publishing: Bloomsbury USA Children's 1/2/12

          After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. 
          Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. 
          Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. 
          Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.