Book Review: Demonglass (Hex Hall, #2) by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Demonglass (Hex Hall, #2)

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Pages: 359

Publication: March 1, 2011

Publisher: Hyperion Books

Summary taken from goodreads: 

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth. 

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers. 

But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

4 STARS - I REALLY REALLY LIKED IT :D

MY REVIEW: 

Guh.

Like, wow. Demonglass was just as great as Hex Hall, full of snark and humor, action and suspense, mystery and twists, and yeah... it was really really good.

I was completely absorbed in the book straight at beginning, and I was hanging on the edge of my seat in suspenseful agony/anticipation during the last 30 pages of the book. Then the ending made me want to go find Rachel Hawkins and beg and bribe her into finishing the next volume in this series because I have GOT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

While the book was an awesome sequel to an equally awesome series, there was something that irritated me quite a bit in this book. I kept on finding simple grammatical mistakes in the book. Like, "is" should have been in place instead of "in", and I found a few sentences that were missing a word.

I'm okay if a book has one or two mistakes in it, but for it to have over five basically says that it didn't get as much proofreading as it should have.

-----------------

This is totally irrelevant, but... it's National S'mores Day! 

I recommend celebrating by having a campfire in your backyard. Or near a stove. XP

My Rearranged Room :D

So, I spent the majority of yesterday rearranging some of my furniture, procrastinating on doing my calc homework, eventually doing my calc homework, helping my sis assemble her new bookshelf, moving her old bookshelf into my room, and moving a bunch of books around.

It was a busy day. :P

Now! I have another bookshelf in more room to hold some of my many piles of books lying around my room on the floor. What's really sad is the fact that I still have quite a few piles of books still lying on the floor, since my bookshelves couldn't hold them all. 

These are the piles beside my bed against my wall.

These are the piles in my closet.

It's so sad! XD 

Basically, this just means that I need to get my butt in gear and start reading like crazy so that I can donate or sell the books that I don't particularly want to read to make room for the rest of my books on the shelves.

This is my sis's old shelf that she gave me. I dub it my "already read shelf". The top shelf is my favorite books (my friend's my Hunger Games series and my sis has Little Brother by Cory Doctorow). On the left side of the second shelf is my miscellaneous books that didn't fit my other genres. Right now, its genres include: spy, thief, historical fiction, dystopian, and time traveling. The other side of the shelf is my required reading for school. The third shelf is contemporary. The fourth shelf is paranormal/fantasy/magic. The last shelf has my yearbooks, school workbooks my sis gave me, and my manga/graphic novel magazines.

My two small bookshelves now hold half of my TBR books, since it couldn't hold all of them. Although the top shelf of this bookshelf aren't TBR books; they hold my middle grade and translated novels that I've read along with my dvds and such. 

The rest of the bookshelves are TBR. Obviously, the top shelf of this bookshelf holds my literary books, the half of the left are the ones I'll be reading in AP lit later on this year. 

Annnddddd.... that's it. 

I really should study for my calc test on Friday seeing as how I don't know what to do half of the time when given a problem in there... -__-"

Bai bai~

pointy.star

In My Mailbox (34)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Bought: 

Wildefire by Karsten Knight

The Girl Who Was on Fire by Various Authors

Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers

Shadowspell by Jenna Black

I'm excited to read all of these books!

Self-Imposed Isolation & The Hangover

I basically spent the whole day reading while I was babysitting over at my cousins' house, only stopping for a bit to warm up the food for the kids and clean afterwords.

It was really nice. 

Usually, whenever I read, I'd eventually be distracted by the internet or my phone or by my family, so it was a nice reprieve to fully absorb myself in The Daughter of Smoke and Bones by Laini Taylor. Although I think I've gotten slower at reading since I would usually be near finished with a book that thick by now if I had a whole day to read it...

Oh well, I only have 100 pages left; I can prolly finish tomorrow after I'm done with my calc homework and studying. I hope. -__-"

This is the cover of the ARC that I have...

but I've seen this cover first and I like it a lot more than the one that I have although this cover isn't really relevant to the  book...

Anyway, I watched The Hangover last night an hour before my sis and I went to watch the sequel, The Hangover Part II, at the dollar movie theater, which was even more hilarious than the first movie. Alan is so retarded, it's hilarious. And I can't believe all of the stuff Stu that always happens to him whenever they blackout, lol. I feel so sorry for him.

They're still showing X-Men: First Class at the dollar movie theater. I so want to watch it! O__O

Anyway, I'm gonna go. See ya later~

pointy.star

Book Review: Virals (Virals, #1) by Kathy Reichs

Title: Virals (Virals, #1)
Author: Kathy Reichs
Pages: 448
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication: November 2, 2010
Summary taken from goodreads:

Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage "sci-philes" who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their newfound physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent.

Fortunately, they are now more than friends they're a pack. They are Virals.

3.5 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW:

The beginning of the book was very descriptive and slow, which turned me off a little. The foreshadowing that was used at the end of the first few chapters was also a little too dramatic for me.

However, once the plot really started kicking in, I was easily sucked into the story. For such a thick book, it didn't take long to read since the mystery and suspense kept the pace fast and story entertaining. And man, that twist in the end... gotta say I was surprised, but I wasn't completely surprised. Some people are just too good to be true.

Speaking of people, I really liked the characters in Virals. At least the members of the pack.

Tory is a great protagonist. She's independent, smart enough to skip a grade (although she seems a little too smart for a fourteen year old girl at certain times), loyal, stubborn, compromising, and every bit the leader of the group.

Ben sort of reminds me of Fang from Maximum Ride with the whole strong and silent thing. Plus, he does seem like the second in command since the other guys agree to whatever plan Tory comes up with after Ben agrees first. But he talks more than Fang and really likes his boat. So.

Hiram, AKA Hi, is the comedian of the group. His sarcasm and wit has me grinning or chuckling half of the time. For example: "I'll be here." Hi pointed at his bathroom. "That toilet's the center of my universe."

And Shelton. Shelton is like the voice of reason that isn't afraid to admit that he's scared. But he's also a techno geek and picks locks. Pretty cool traits.

The lack of romance was surprising, but also refreshing. Yes, Tory has a crush, but it doesn't get in the way of the plot, and the girl didn't spend much time over-thinking about the guy, which was good. It's nice to know that not all girls are obsessed with finding themselves a boyfriend. Then again, she had much other pressing issues to worry about first... like who was trying to kill her.

Since the mystery was solved at the end of the book and there was no cliffhanger, I'm assuming that the books in this series will have standalone plots, which is totally fine with me. That just means that I don't have to waste time agonizing over the endings while waiting for the next book to come out. :P

The Magical Impact of Harry Potter

This made sad, but so so happy. Books can change worlds. They're magical.

My Year with Harry Potter: Audiobook Magic

Last summer, my 10-year-old son read Harry Potter, the seven-book, 1,091,123-word phenomenon that has swept the world. When he was done, he asked me to read the series. I like to read what my son is reading. It gives the two of us opportunities to talk about books and characters. Protagonists and antagonists. Good, evil and all the gray in between. But Harry Potter was such a commitment. Then I had a brainstorm. Instead of my reading Harry Potter, Elijah and I would listen to the audiotapes preformed by the remarkable British actor Jim Dale. I had no idea what I was in for. We stuck the first CD into our car stereo last October, and then during almost every journey to and from school, the grocery store, anywhere, Elijah and I would listen. I was caught. Stuck. Riveted and deeply in love with the world J.K. Rowling created. I laughed at her characters' wit and charm, gasped when they faced imminent danger, wept when loved characters died, and was stunned by the beauty and terror Rowling was able to weave into her complex and beguiling story.  In late April, we finished the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and I had to take a break. Not because I was tired or bored, but because I was not ready for the journey to end. The idea that my son and I had only one more book to listen to was too sad. I did not want to let the story go. And more than anything, I did not want to let the characters go. So, instead of listening to book seven, I went back and listened to book one, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, in which Harry and his friends had not yet reached puberty and Hogwarts was a bright and shining place with luminous ceilings and heavy-hitting Quidditch matches. In June, thinking myself ready, my son and I forged forward and began listening to book seven, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. I thought I had steeled myself, yet day by day I watched with increased trepidation as Elijah put in one CD after another, leading us closer and closer to the end. I know this is all very silly. I am talking about how hard it was for me to say goodbye to a fiction--a non-reality, a story. But it feels like so much more. It feels, in fact, almost precisely like it feels every time I open my eyes and see that my son has taken one more step into his own life and away from mine.  I will always remember Elijah's last year in elementary school as the year we listened to Harry Potter. Every morning we would get into our own little Hogwarts Express and go off to school, shouting spells or debating whether Severus Snape was good or evil. (I must hand it to Elijah--he never once gave any hint of what was to come.) I will remember that Elijah turned 11 while we listened to Harry Potter, and we celebrated by driving all the way to Seattle to see the Harry Potter exhibit. And, I will remember, always remember, Elijah reaching over to me as the final book ended. "It's time," he said. "It's okay to be sad, but it's okay to say goodbye too." Last Friday night Elijah, my husband, Chuck, and I stood in line for the final Harry Potter film, The Deathly Hollows, Part 2. It was a long line, and it was filled with people of all ages, sizes, hair styles and dress. I did an informal survey, and almost every person I spoke with had read all seven books. Amazing in this day and age of Nintendo and TiVo and the Internet and everything else that distracts us from the written word and the worlds it can take us.  After the film, we watched the credits roll to an end. The war was over. Good had triumphed, and the characters we had grown to know as friends had moved on with their lives without us. When all was quiet and the lights back on, I put away my handkerchief, and Elijah, Chuck and I rose from our seats and left.  I know it's okay to say goodbye, but I don't want to. It's silly, really. But I have never felt so in love with the places a book has taken me. Thank you, J.K. Rowling, for the journey you have given me with my child. Thank you so very much. --Naseem Rakha Rakha is the author of The Crying Tree, published last year by Broadway. Article taken from here. And I read this over at postsecret, which is also magical in its own way. My mom, sister and I had a tradition of seeing the Harry Potter movies opening night at midnight. She died last June, but my sister and I decided to go to the last one together, in costume. In a packed out theatre full of excited and crazy fans, there was only one open seat; and it was beside us, smack dab in the middle of the theatre. We didn't save it. I'm pretty sad that the future generations won't be able to experience the full effect of Harry Potter like mine did. When I have kids, I'm going to make them watch HP while growing up. :P Anyway, that's all for now, folks! :) pointy.star

Tumblr Pics 12

Gah. AP Calc's already making my brain hurt. :(

But these pics don't! 

Lol, I make the best transitions, you don't even know. :P

My Last First Day of High School

Gah. School makes me so tired. -__-

Actually, the day started off in a frantic hurry. My friend, Emily, was picking me up at 7, and somehow or another, I didn't wake up to my alarm that was supposed to go off at 6:30, so I woke up around 6:49 and had to run around the house and get ready around 10 minutes. It was a good thing that we had already decided to stop by McDonalds to get breakfast, cuz I really didn't have any time to grab any before I left.

My schedule is pretty random when you look at it. I have AP Calc AB for first period, current issues second period, physics third, graphics 2 fourth, intro to engineering fifth, AP Lit sixth, and marketing principals seventh period.

I already had my AP Calc teacher's husband for Acc Math 2 sophomore year (yeah, they have so much in common :P), and I saw both of them at the midnight premiere of Harry Potter, which was both weird and strange; you never really see your teachers outside of school, ya know? Also, they were going to sit next to me in the theater since they thought that there were two empty seats beside me since Emily went to go refill her drink at the time. That would have been so awkward! O__O

But yeah, Mrs. Grange is making me regret taking the class by telling us how much work and effort we're going to have to put into the class and how we can't fail the class since we're the first special case classes for the whole AP math stuff since we got the new curriculum and stuff. Plus, we already have to do work starting tomorrow. I think we're getting our books in the next few days, too. D:

Current issues sounds like a super easy class. Coach Lewis told us that we were going to read a newspaper article or something small and write our opinion on it. And we don't have tests, which is awesome. I think the class is going to be my homework class, lol.

Physics... the teacher seems pretty awkward. We're doing some getting to know you and physics stuff in there, so I don't know how hard the class is going to be, especially since I've had some friends who passed the class with 100's and some who pretty much managed to scrape by, and they're all honor students. So, we'll see~

I'm sad that I only have one person from my graphics class with me this year, but I know a few other people in there, so it's not that bad. Plus, it's a pretty small class, so I know that we won't be fighting for computers this year. Unless people get schedule changes and the class grows...

I only know one person in engineering, and he's prolly going to leave since he was supposed to have woodshop, so I have no idea how it's going to be in there. The class is really full, and the majority of the students are guys, and I'm pretty sure there's only a few seniors in there. But, the teacher doesn't give homework and only expects us to do work inside the class and we're going to be doing a lot of projects, so I'm interested in there.

I know the majority of people in AP Lit, which is awesome since I can easily find someone to help with homework or gripe about the class. The teacher's really cool, and I think I'll like the class since I like reading and all that jazz. I'm pretty sure I'll fail at the in-class essays though, since it usually takes me forever to figure what to write about and articulate it on paper, especially when I'm timed. -__-"

I only know Madison in marketing, and she's trying to get out of the class. Emily told me that it's extremely easy, and if you join DECA (which Emily's forcing me to do), you get extra credit and stuff. The class is pretty huge, but I can already tell that there's some jokers in there, so I don't think it'll be too bad.

School really does drain a person. But, at least I don't have to ride the bus anymore~ Emily's taking me. Hopefully, by next semester, I'll have my driver's license so I can drive to school myself. :)

Anyway, a little bit after I got home, Sydne and Aliesha stopped by for a surprise visit (since they're both in college now and I hadn't seen them in forever), so I finally got to give them their souvenirs, and after finding out that today was Shanice's birthday, we decided to stop by her house to wish her happy birthday and see if she could hang out. 

So we went to her house and I gave her her souvenir, which was also a rice paddy hat, and then we went around Warner Robins while Sydne went shopping for her dorm room. After that, we went to this Mexican restaurant that we usually go to that's near our house, for dinner and hung out there for a while catching up. Man, did we have a lot to talk about! :P

So yeah, I think this was a pretty awesome last first day of high school. :D Especially since I was just planning on filling out scholarship applications and reading some poems that I was supposed to read over the summer when I got home today. :P

lol, so truuee, although my school started today :P

Anyway, that's it for now~ I'll keep you updated. :)

pointy.star