Pure

Author:  Julianna Baggott

Year:  February 2012

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Source: NetGalley

Website:  www.juliannabaggott.com

This is yet another entry into the saturated field of YA dystopian literature and, I know, if you're anything like me, you're beginning to get wary of reading yet another book of this genre. But, I urge you to give Pure a look. 

Baggott creates a world post "Detonations" where there have been nuclear type bombs that destroyed most of the world. Many people were able to remain untouched because they had been inside these Domes that had been built at the times of the explosions. They are called Pures. Others, like the main character, Pressia, were damaged. Their bodies became fused with other objects causing horrible deformities. Life outside the Domes is difficult on a good day. At age 16, all people outside the Domes are required to turn themselves over to the OSR so that they can be either trained to be soldiers, or if not healthy enough, used as live targets. The book starts with Pressia's 16th birthday.

The other main character is Partridge. Partridge is a Pure raised inside the Dome. His father is one of the leaders. Partridge's brother committed suicide and his mother never made it inside the Dome and died a martyr helping others. Then, one day, his father makes a remark that leads Partridge to believe that his mother might still be alive. This leads Partridge to escape outside the Dome to try and find his mother. When he and Pressia meet up, both of their lives change forever.

I really enjoyed this book. I had some difficulties with some of the imagery and picturing some of the fusions described in the book in my head. i just couldn't wrap my mind around some of it. Guess my imagination is failing me there. 

2012 Reading Goals

This is going to be a very short post. When I look around my home, I see piles of unread books. I turn on my nook and there's hundreds of books there just waiting for me to read them. I turn on my ipod and check out my audible account and there's another group of unread books. So, my goal for this year is to get through as my as my unread books that I already own as possible without acquiring a bunch of new books. Wish me luck on that one.

Favorite Books of 2011

Hmm, so this one is kind of hard for me. I didn't read as many books in 2011 as I had intended to and, when I look back over my list, I don't know which books that I would consider my favorites of the year but I think I managed to narrow it down to these books (they're in the order that I read them):

1. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience & Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand - Such a terrific story. It read like fiction. 
2. Divergent by Vericona Roth - I loved this book. I have recommended it to just about everybody I know. I want a Four.
3. Graceling by Kristen Cashore - I can't believe I let this book sit in my TBR pile for so long. I'm so glad I finally read it. 
4. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - It took me forever to read this book and I'm still stuck on book two. It was one of those books that I had a very hard time putting down but once I did, I didn't get real enthused about picking it back up. And when I picked it back up, I couldn't put it back down.
5. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - This was probably my favorite book of the year and definitely my favorite audiobook. I completely enjoyed it and could not put it down.
6. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini - I read this book in one sitting. 
7. Matched by Ally Condie.
8. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - this one has a big but beside it. I loved the audiobook. Jim Dale was terrific and completely drew me in and kept me listening but, I think that I wouldn't have been able to handle reading the book. I probably would have gave up on it but because I was listening to Jim Dale's narration, it makes the top ten list.
9. All These Things I Have Done by Gabrielle Zevin.
10. If I Die  by Rachel Vincent - I loved the turns this series took on this book. 

So, that's the books I really enjoyed this year. Wonder what's going to be my favorites for 2012.

Batman Noel

Author: Lee Bermejo

Year: 2011

Publisher: DC Comics

This is a retelling of the Dickens' Christmas story with Batman center stage as the Scrooge character. I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was like most all reincarnations of Dickens story but it was much darker - kind of like the most recent Dark Knight Batman movies. Fun read for any Batman lover.

The Handmaid's Tale

Author: Margaret Atwood

Year: 1986

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin  Company

The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel (no surprise I'm reading another one of those). The story is told in first person from the point of view of Offred (not her real name). Offred is a handmaid in a new society called the Republic of Gilead and lives somewhere around Bangor, Maine. In this society, women have no power and are possessions of men. Some women are Wives, some are Marthas, others, like Offred, are Handmaids. Their function in society comes from the story in the Bible where Rachel gives her maid to her husband, Jacob, so that he can have children by her. Offred is placed in the home of a high ranking Commander where she must hope that he can make her pregnant. If she is not able to have a baby, then she will either die or be made an Unwoman and shipped to the Colonies.

This society is new and the story is interspersed with stories from Offred's life before this happened - when she had a job, money, freedom, a husband and a daughter. She can remember what she's lost and, at times, can not decide whether she pities the younger girls who cannot remember a time before or if she thinks it is better that they don't remember.

I've heard about this story for a very long time. And it's always been good reviews and high praise for The Handmaid's Tale. I must agree that it is a very well-written and captivating book. My biggest complaint is that I didn't feel completely connected with Offred and I wanted just a little more. I don't know if I was looking for more emotion, more story, more background, more conclusion. I just felt like there was a little something missing. Don't misunderstand, I thought this was a terrific book. There was just a little something missing for me.

Blood Bound: Unbound, Book 1

Author: Rachel Vincent
Year: 2011
Publisher: Mira


Olivia Warren is a blood tracker. She can find anybody just by smelling their blood (like a bloodhound). In her world, a world of Skilled people, people are bound to others by oaths made with blood and one never quite knows who is bound and who isn't. So, Olivia trusts no one. But now the husband of her one of her oldest childhood friends has been killed and it looks like her daughter is next. Olivia is forced to work with Cam - the lover she left behind.


I love Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamer series and that is the sole reason I picked up this book as I don't read that much urban fantasy. I really enjoyed it. I could feel the tension between Olivia and Cam - both sexual and anger. The world is incredibly imaginative and well built. I sat up way too late on a work night finishing this book. Of course, I hated the cliffhanger of an ending. ;)

The Iron King: The Iron Fey, Book One

Author: Julie Kagawa
Year:  2010
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Website: www.juliekagawa.com

Meghan Chase's little brother is kidnapped by fey and replaced by a changeling child. Meghan has to travel into the Nevernever to save her brother. There Meghan learns that nothing in her life is really what she thought it was. Her father is actually a faerie king. Her best friend, Puck, is the king's trickster who was protecting Meghan in the human world. Meghan also learns that the mysterious stranger who she had spotted several times in the human world is Ash - a prince of the winter court and her real father's enemy. But the danger doesn't stop there. Turns out, the fey kidnapped her brother are a new breed. They're made of iron and plan to take over the Nevernever and destroy it. 

I was surprised at how much I had enjoyed this book. I've read several book about fey and have not been impressed with them. The stories are all the same and fairly lackluster at that. I heard Julie Kagawa in an interview and she intrigued me so I decided to give her books a try. I'm glad a did. I look forward to reading the rest of this series.