The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure

Hello!

At the beginning of the week I reviewed The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Now naturally I have to review The Scorch Trials  and The Death Cure. I'll do as I have done before where I don't provide a summary and just give you a quick review.

The second installment in the series was definitely more action packed. This was probably my favorite book of the series. There is a lot more scenery in this book and the characters are better developed. Oh and the feels in this book! I had so many emotions I didn't know what to do with myself! There was a lot of sleeping and passing out on Thomas's part... a lot. Dashner again kept a lot from the reader for a good majority of the book and I found myself getting frustrated that I couldn't know, I gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

I lost faith. This book was like the typical third book in a series like this. It was good but it's been done. Also, so much was left without explanation. I guess that's what the prequel is for. I'm still so confused not a great way to end a series. This book was a lot of back and forth, who's good, who's bad, they're here, now they're back to point A. And why? I'm not sure. This book lost a lot. It could have been great and it kind of failed. There was a lot of action and twists and turns but the end just left me hanging. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars,

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

The Maze Runner

Hey everyone!

Next up on the list is The Maze Runner by James Dashner.

If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.

This book starts off a little slow. But then it sure does pick up and after that I couldn't put the series down. It was definitely a unique dystopian teen sci-fi book other than the whole concept of "Big Brother". Dashner really created his own world in this book. He creates slang words that the Gladers use which is sort of unique to this book. Only a few characters really had personality, the rest were completely lacking. It also doesn't help no one has their memories so personality is almost impossible. The reader goes into this book with absolutely no information but his name and it takes a REALLY long time before we find out anything. It also did seem like a big video game but don't all of these types of books. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

Lone Wolf

Hello, hello, hello,

Next up is Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult.

Edward Warren, twenty-four, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: His dad lies comatose, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara. With her father’s chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father’s organs. Is he motivated by altruism, or revenge? And to what lengths will his sister go to stop him from making an irrevocable decision?

Angels and Demons
R
M
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Doctor Sleep
I Am Legend
Lone Wolf
L
Once Upon a Prince
Superman on the Couch

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. I would say this wasn't one of my favorites by her. I read this while I was taking an Animal Behavior class and it brought in a lot of information but there was a lot anthropomorphising. Halfway through the book she added another voice. And there were a lot of events that happened that really had very little significance. One thing Picoult did well was show the separation and coming together of family. The big "bomb" that Picoult drops at the end of every book was really not that big of a deal. There were a lot of twists and turns in the book The ending overall was incredible. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

Disney After Dark

Hello!

Today's review is of Disney After Dark by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.

In this fantastical thriller, five young teens tapped as models for theme park "guides" find themselves pitted against Disney villains and witches that threaten both the future of Walt Disney World and the stability of the world outside its walls. Using a cutting-edge technology called DHI—which stands for both Disney Host Interactive and Daylight Hologram Imaging—Finn Whitman, an Orlando teen, and four other kids are transformed into hologram projections that guide guests through the park. The new technology turns out, however, to have unexpected effects that are both thrilling and scary. Soon Finn finds himself transported in his DHI form into the Magic Kingdom at night. Is it real? Is he dreaming? Finn's confusion only increases when he encounters Wayne, an elderly Imagineer who tells him that the park is in grave danger. Led by the scheming witch Maleficent, a mysterious group of characters called the Overtakers is plotting to destroy Disney's beloved realm, and maybe more.

This was an interesting little book. It had a great idea behind it that any kid who loves Disney would obsess over. It wasn't a book for adults though, it seemed exclusively for children. I will say it was fun to see characters and rides come to life and I would love to live in that world. It wasfun to read behind the scenes  of the parks and go on a scavenger hunt with the characters. There was also a lot of technology in this book and the technology doesn't seem to far away. I gave it 3 out of 4 stars.

From this avid Disney Fan to you,

Keep reading!
Mackenzie

P.S. That picture was from five years ago and I'm one of those tiny ant people.

James and the Giant Peach

Hello, hello, hello!

Here's an oldie but goodie, James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl was a champion of the underdog and all things little—in this case, an orphaned boy oppressed by two nasty, self-centered aunts. How James escapes his miserable life with the horrible aunts and becomes a hero is a Dahlicious fantasy of the highest order. You will never forget resourceful little James and his new family of magically overgrown insects—a ladybug, a spider, a grasshopper, a glowworm, a silkworm, and the chronic complainer, a centipede with a hundred gorgeous shoes. Their adventures aboard a luscious peach as large as a house take them across the Atlantic Ocean, through waters infested with peach-eating sharks and skies inhabited by malevolent Cloudmen, to a ticker-tape parade in New York City.

I have not read this book since second grade. This book does one thing that most children's books don't: it still appeals to adults. A lot of books I loved as a child I got bored with reading as an adult but not this one. I just love all the characters and the imagination in this book is stupendous. And who wouldn't want to travel in a peach. Maybe minus the giant bugs but seriously.When I read this it brought be back memories of my childhood and it was fantastic. There are no bad words about this book it's just all around fantastic. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars,

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

Still Alice

Hey everyone!

Today's review is Still Alice by Lisa Genova.

This may be one of the most frightening novels you'll ever read. It's certainly one of the most unforgettable. Genova's debut revolves around Alice Howland - Harvard professor, gifted researcher and lecturer, wife,
and mother of three grown children. One day, Alice sets out for a run and soon realizes she has no idea how to find her way home. It's a route she has taken for years, but nothing looks familiar. She is utterly lost. Is her forgetfulness the result of menopausal symptoms? A ministroke? A neurological cancer? After a few doctors' appointments and medical tests, Alice has her diagnosis, and it's a shocker -- she has early-onset Alzheimer's disease. What follows is the story of Alice's slow but inevitable loss of memory and connection with reality, told from her perspective. She gradually loses the ability to follow a conversational thread, the story line of a book,
or to recall information she heard just moments before. To Genova's great credit, readers learn of the progression of Alice's disease through the reactions of others, as Alice does, so they feel what she feels -- a slowly building terror.

Almost there!
Boy in the Suitcase (The)
Under the Dome
Confessions of a Mask
K

Still Alice

This was very vocabulary heavy and psychology heavy, I had to look up at least one word a page because I was unfamiliar with the terminology. But oh did this book do so many things right! In the beginning you feel lost with Alice. You feel trapped. You're following her deterioration and feel like you're deteriorating yourself. I was so paranoid because I forget so much and as I was reading this book it felt like I was forgetting so much more than usual. It's so different when it's being told from the person who has Alzheimer's as opposed to family members who are just simply observing. You feel everything and it is such a beautiful read overall. But so very emotional. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy (or sad) reading!
Mackenzie

This Is Where I Leave You

Hey there!

Alright, today I reviewed This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper.

This Is Where I Leave You opens with the death of Judd Foxman’s father, an event that marks the first time in a decade that the entire Foxman family—including Judd’s mother, brothers, and sister have been together in the same house for an extended period. Conspicuously absent: Judd’s wife, Jen, whose fourteen-month affair with Judd’s radio-shock-jock boss has recently become painfully public. The typical Foxman family gathering ends with car doors slamming and tires screeching as various factions scatter to nurse their resentments in private. But this time around, the Foxmans reluctantly submit to their father’s dying request: to spend the seven days following the funeral together. In the same house. Like a real family. For Judd it’s a week-long opportunity to come to terms with his father’s death, his failed marriage, and to explain the mess his life has become to a never-ending parade of people he thought he might never see again. Which would be bad enough without the bomb Jen dropped the day Judd’s father died: She’s pregnant.

This Is Where I Leave You
U
R
K
E
Y

S

This book really lived up to the movie cast (I haven't seen the movie). This book is so awkwardly hysterical. I could see something happening in my family if we were Jewish and were sitting Shiva. It was the perfect combination of everything you want in a comedy and I can't wait to see the movie. There were twists and turns. There were weird siblings and spouses. It is a totally relate able book. It was my type of book. The language was also great. One thing that the book hardly did was actually mourn the father. Isn't that the point of sitting Shiva? There was very little about the father at all. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie