Reboot by Amy Tintera

Reboot by Amy Tintera

Published by Harper Teen

Genre young adult dystopian

Pages 365

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. 

After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. 

The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return.

 Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. 

His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. 

Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. 

When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. 

Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. 

But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

Verdict

What I thought

I really liked the plot of this book. I thought it was something new, a fresh take on the well-known zombies. However, there was a lot left to be desired. 

These Reboots are seen as awful, disgusting and inhuman. They are supposed to be strong, fast, able to heal and they don't have the emotional feelings the way humans do (if they have been dead for a long time before "rebooting") Our main character, Wren 178,  is the deadliest Reboot in Texas. But for me, she wasn't that deadly and scary, as she is supposed to be. Yes she is a good fighter but she isn't intimidating at all. This might be the reason why Callum wasn’t intimidated by Wren aswell. Something she couldn't get her head around. 

Wren, because she is 178, is supposed to not have any human emotions and feelings at all. In the beginning of the book, you think she hasn't. But when Callum comes into the picture you see she's just like any other teenage girl. I did think we'd experience an epic growth in her emotions and feelings. But the one moment she doesn't show any, and the other she is an emotional wreck. 

Callum now is training with Wren. Wren describes that she doesn't understand why girls are so into boys, what people like about kissing. But Wren seemed to fall for Callum so fast. I didn't expect the romance to begin so early into the book. I didn't mind it though, but I did find this a little bit of a letdown. 

Also, at the very end of the book, it was very quick paced. They fought HARC; they conquered and went to a place where Reboots could live free. However, this felt too beautiful to be true. 

I don't like to be too negative. As this wasn't a horrible book! I really did like it. There were a few things that let down to the awesome plot. But I did enjoy their romance (even though it was a bit fast paced) and the original take on the zombies. 

Reboot was quite entertaining; even though Wren was a typical love-struck girl, whom was supposed to be a bad-ass girl. The ending did make me very curious for the sequel. To me this was a pretty average dystopian read. 

Since you've been gone by Morgan Matson

Since you've been gone by Morgan Matson

Published by Simon & Schuster

Genre Contemporary

Pages 449

The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. 

Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just... disappears. 

No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. 

There’s just a random to-do list. 

On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try... unless they could lead back to her best friend. 

Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough.

Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not? 

Kiss a Stranger? Wait... what?

Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. 

But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, 

and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. 

Who knows what she’ll find?

Verdict 

What I thought

First of all I'd like to say that I totally loved this book! The writing was beautiful and the story was interesting. It felt as if I was Emily herself, probably because I can relate to her.

But, who would leave their friend behind without saying anything? I know I wouldn't be able to do so. The book is based on the idea that Sloane leaves Emily behind with this list she needs to complete. Even though I found this super interesting and I really wanted to complete the list myself. I kept thinking about Sloane, who'd left Emily behind without saying a word. If you're such close friends, why would you want to give that up? As Emily works her way through the list, she finds growth both socially and mentally.  

I have never connected so well with a character. Sometimes I felt as if I was Emily, as if I have known her all along. She is very passive, doesn't like to make small talk with strangers or do things out of her comfort zone. Contrary to her friend Sloane, as Sloane loves to talk and be noticed. Everytime Emily completed a task of the list, I felt so proud. Really seeing her grow was an eye opener for me. Thinking, if Emily could complete this list filled with some crazy things,  I could do it as well.

And Frank Porter! Do I need to say more? The over-achiever and good guy who helps Emily along the way with completing the list. Frank was such a sweet, caring and supportive guy. When Emily and Frank went for a run, I totally wish I was running next to him. 

Talking about running. Running was the activity that brought Frank and Emily together. Flipping through the book I saw these lists, and I was super excited to find out what they were. The book contains a lot of playlists filled with awesome songs! 

I loved this book so much, it was a real eye opener for me. It make me feel powerfull and energetic. It made me want to begin with stepping out of my comfort zone, making new friends and having wonderful,new experiences. I'm already making lists for what my friends and I can do this summer. One of them is definitely re-reading this book. It's such a light hearted, summer read, which yet contains a serious message. For me this message was: try to live your life to the fullest. 

I definitely recommend this book to everyone. Pick this book up as soon as you can. It was delightfull!

Morgan Matson did a great job once again! Thank you!

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Published by Harlequin Teen 

Genre Paranormal young adult

Pages 404

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course 

between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. 

From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined?

 Please. 

But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second,

 and everything she knew and loved was gone.
Her father was right. The monsters are real...

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. 

To survive, 

she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. 

But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, 

those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies.

Verdict

What I thought

My expectations were proven wrong at the very beginning of this book. I thought that this book would be based in the "Alice in Wonderland" world we all know off. But everything takes place in our own. Also I never heard of this author before. So without having read the back, I went into the book not really thinking much of it.

I really loved this book. Of course I'm up for zombies, as I love the game The Walking Dead. So I was super excited when I found this scrolling through the young adult lists on Goodreads. The character, Alice Bell had me hooked at the very first page. She is such a lovely girl. She is super sarcastic, which I totally love, and I found myself really able to relate to her. Not because I'm in the same boat as her, but because of the way she acts. Being social awkward myself, I could really see where she was coming from. 

Not only did I love Alice's character. The other main characters were lovely as well. The writer portrayed the characters really well. Even Though Cole is the unapproachable, though guy, I found myself wanting to know more about him.

Never did I want to put the book down, but when I did I found myself thinking about Alice discovering the mysteries of the new world that opened up to her.

The writing of this book is funny and light hearted, which makes the book easy to read. I flew through it, before I knew I already finished it! Something I will say though is the ending. Of course, it's a trilogy (for as far as I know), which is why the book ended with so many mysteries still uncovered. But I really wanted to know what would happen next.

If you're into books about zombies, and Alice in Wonderland is your favorite fairytale, than this book is definitely up your alley.

Bonjour!

Hi guys! I'm so excited to start this book blog and I really hope you guys love to read my recommendations and reviews. I'm super new to blogging, but practice makes perfect they say. I've always been interested in blogging and I've always wanted to try it out. And as reading is one of my hobbies, I figured why not combine both? It took me about a year to actually take the a chance. As I still am in high school, my posting schedule will be a little bit off. But we'll make it work. Please bare with me as I'm learning as I go. But I hope you'll support me and stay tuned for what is up to come!

Xx Zoë.