Month: October 2020

Review: Last Pick: Rise Up (Last Pick #3)

Title: Last Pick: Rise Up (Last Pick #3)
Author: Jason Walz
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel, Science Fiction
Publisher: First Second
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 6, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Earth’s last hope are also the last picked, in this thrilling conclusion of Jason Walz’s dystopian graphic trilogy.

Wyatt is now the reluctant leader of the “last picked”—the disabled, the elderly, and those deemed too young to be useful for hard labor by their alien captors. But how can he and his ragtag allies take down an entire alien federation?

Meanwhile, Wyatt’s twin sister Sam and her girlfriend Mia are creating chaos all over the galaxy in an attempt to rescue Sam’s parents. But even if the family is reunited, can they stay alive long enough to see the end of the alien regime?

Review:

A few years ago, aliens arrived on Earth and took every able-bodied person between the ages of 16 and 65. In the previous book, Wyatt’s twin sister Sam was taken after they turned 16. Wyatt, who is on the autism spectrum, teamed up with the disabled, the elderly, and the young people who were left behind in order to go and rescue their loved ones who were taken from Earth. Meanwhile, there is a virus that is infecting the aliens and making them sick. Wyatt has to travel to another planet to rescue his sister and his parents.

This is a great conclusion to this series. Disability is an important theme to this series. People with disabilities were left behind on Earth, rather than being taken by the aliens to do work for them. The aliens misjudged the people with disabilities, as well as the young and older people, to be weaker than everyone else. Instead, these people used their unique skills to rise up and fight against the aliens.

The graphics were a little confusing during the fight scenes in this story. It may have just been in my advanced copy, but there were a lot of the same colours, such as greens and pinks, which made it difficult to differentiate between aliens and their spaceships. This slowed down my reading and made it a little confusing at times.

I highly recommend this middle grade graphic novel series.

Thank you First Second for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks

Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes

Other books in the series:

Have you read Last Pick: Rise Up? What did you think of it?

Top Ten Tuesday – Super Long Book Titles

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Super Long Book Titles. Here’s my list:

1. The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe by Angela Kelly

2. How to Catch a Sinful Marquess by Amy Rose Bennett

3. Paris is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay

4. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

5. Just a Boy and a Girl in a Little Canoe by Sarah Mlynowski

6. Keep My Heart in San Francisco by Amelia Diane Coombs

7. My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong

8. Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon

9. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley

10. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

(All photos taken from Goodreads)

What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?

Happy Pub Day – October 13

Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!

All About Us by Tom Ellen

Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell

Come On In: 15 Stories About Immigration and Finding Home by Adi Alsaid (editor)

Simmer Down by Sarah Smith

A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe

A California Christmas by Brenda Novak

Beyond the Ruby Veil by Mara Fitzgerald

Lightbringer by Claire Legrand

Storm the Earth by Rebecca Kim Wells

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

What books are you most excited for this week?

Blog Tour Review: The Code for Love and Heartbreak

Title: The Code for Love and Heartbreak
Author: Jillian Cantor
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 6, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

From bestselling author Jillian Cantor comes a smart, edgy update of Jane Austen’s beloved classic Emma.

Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. After all, people are unreliable. They let you down—just like Emma’s sister, Izzy, did this year, when she moved to California for college. But numbers…those you can count on. (No pun intended.)

Emma’s senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma’s idea, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.

Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there’s nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.

Review:

Emma Woodhouse loves numbers and coding. She is co-president of the coding club at school with George Knightley. Emma comes up with the idea to create a dating app for their competition project. Though George doesn’t agree with that idea, they create the app and start matching up students in their school with their ideal partner using a special algorithm. Most of the matches seem to work out at first, until they discover some problems with the algorithm. Despite the successful matches, Emma is reluctant to make a match for herself, because her love code may not give her the result she wants.

Emma is one of my favourite classic books, so I was so excited to read this adaptation. This story works perfectly as a modern adaptation. The original Emma liked to match her friends and acquaintances in her town with who she thought would be a good romantic match for them. In this story, Emma is also a matchmaker, but using a modern matchmaking app, rather than just doing it herself. Both of the Emma characters are clueless to her own love interest who is right in front of her the whole time.

I loved the coding theme to this book. I don’t know much about coding, and I find it fascinating to read about. Emma embraces her nerdy side by working hard in her school work and activities, such as coding club and playing the piano. She was a hardworking and intelligent character, even if she didn’t always catch on to the social cues around her.

This is a great Emma retelling!

Thank you Inkyard Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin

About the author:

Jillian Cantor is the author of award-winning and bestselling novels for adults and teens, including In Another Time, The Hours Count, Margot, and The Lost Letter, which was a USA Today bestseller. She has a BA in English from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Arizona. Cantor lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

Have you read The Code for Love and Heartbreak? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – October 12

This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!

What I just finished:

This weekend I finished The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – October 11

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

I did 9 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?

Sundays in Bed With… The Code for Love and Heartbreak

The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.

This Sunday I’m reading The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

From bestselling author Jillian Cantor comes a smart, edgy update of Jane Austen’s beloved classic Emma.

Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. After all, people are unreliable. They let you down—just like Emma’s sister, Izzy, did this year, when she moved to California for college. But numbers…those you can count on. (No pun intended.)

Emma’s senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma’s idea, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.

Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there’s nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.

What book are you in bed with today?

Six for Sunday – Characters You’d Be Scared to Meet

This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.

This week’s prompt is Characters You’d Be Scared to Meet. Here’s my list:

1. Frankenstein’s Monster

2. Dracula

3. Voldemort

4. The Joker

5. Malachiasz

6. Scythe Goddard

(All book covers from Goodreads)

Did you make a Six for Sunday list?

Review: The Bone Houses

Title: The Bone Houses
Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Fantasy, Horror
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Owlcrate box
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 24, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Aderyn (“Ryn”) only cares about two things: her family, and her family’s graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don’t always stay dead.

The risen corpses are known as “bone houses,” and legend says that they’re the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?

Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them deep into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the long-hidden truths about themselves.

Review:

Ryn lives with her siblings after the death of her parents, continuing her father’s job as gravedigger. Her father went into the forest one day to investigate the “bone houses,” dead bodies that would rise and attack anyone who entered the forest, and he never came back. Now, the bone houses are entering the town. Ryn saves Ellis, a mapmaker from the kingdom, from a bone house attack. When the bone houses become more aggressive, Ryn and Ellis venture into the forest to figure out how to save her town and her family.

This was a creepy zombie story. I liked that it was historical fiction, so it was removed from our world. From the names that were used, it seemed to be a Welsh setting. I don’t usually like zombie stories, because they can seem forced and fake. Since this story had historical aspects, the bone house zombies could be more realistic.

This story also had some really emotional parts at the end. There were some twists that surprised me, and they were heart wrenching too. Even though there were some heart breaking parts, I really liked the ending.

This is a great spooky historical story.

What to read next:

Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

Have you read The Bone Houses? What did you think of it?

Top 5 Saturday – Feminist Themes

This is a weekly meme hosted Devouring Books. This week’s prompt is Feminist Themes. Here’s my list:

1. Parachutes by Kelly Yang

2. Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

3. Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell and Katie Cotugno

4. American Royals by Katharine McGee

5. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

(All book covers from Goodreads)

If you’d like to do this list too, consider yourself tagged!

Did you make a Top 5 Saturday list?