Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Samantha was an iconic it girl. Everyone loved her, everyone feared her, everyone wanted to be her. But she loses it all when she and her best friend Cassie go missing for several days and Samantha returns without a single memory. Now, Sam flounders through her once elite life style, struggling to find a place to belong amidst the rivalries and fake smiles. With a second chance to change her life, Sam must define who are her true friends, and who's just aiming for a shot in the limelight. As if dealing with the drama wasn't enough, horrific flashbacks to the nights she was missing forces Sam to remember, Cassie is still missing, and her buried memories could be the only thing keeping Sam safe.
I really enjoyed this book, the themes of friendship and romance were enjoyable additions without dominating the plot. The novel wasn't all goreish with murder like I suspected, so it was a considerably fun read. Don't Look Back was more of a mystery than a dark, horror book, and it's the kind where the killer has reasons and such, not just being an enraged psychopath. I didn't even suspect who the killer was, although I wouldn't deem the ending to be a shocking twist. The novel wasn't like a roller coaster of emotions, it neatly followed the typical arc of a mystery novel without being boring. Armentrout also wraps up her book very nicely and straightforward. Many authors attempt to quickly wrap up the falling action part of the plotline but it ends up rather rushed and messy. Armentrout manages to finish cleanly without leaving readers feeling cut off, which I greatly appreciated.
I'd strongly recommend this to people who enjoyed mysteries at a young age and which to continue reading similar books even as a young adult. I rate the book 8.5/10
~Mushu

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Chronicle of a Death Foretold is the tale of a narrator as he goes around his old town, uncovering more details about the murder of Santiago Nasar, a victim who was killed of a crime he might not have committed, and faced a brutal attack the whole town was capable of preventing.
For those of you who have not yet read this very popular short book, it is especially recognized because of the completely different approach Marquez takes to storytelling. From the beginning, readers already know who the victim is, and who stabbed him. Yet the question remains of who is truly guilty for the events which occurred. As the plot goes on, we learn the motives of each of the characters, and what role they played in the crime. Everyone in the town knew the murder would take place before it did, yet nothing was done to stop it. This provides fascinating insight (and kind of a commentary) on the bystander effect. I am almost certain this is why schools make students read this.
The unique and fascinating approach Marquez uses makes this book worth reading, and the plot itself isn't bad either. The delivery at times is confusing, so I especially emphasize the importance to carefully read the whole book. It is very short, but still a good read.
I rate this book a 7.5/10 for the great writing.
~Mushu

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Mare lives in a world divided between commoners of red blood and the supernatural elite with silver blood. The Reds live under severe oppression, forced to do intense labor, or be sent to fight a war of Silvers. Mare, having no particular skills, is bound for the latter. When a chance encounter lands her a job in the palace however, Mare uncovers her own power. A power that shouldn't exist, after all, she's a normal Red. To not cause an uproar, the queen disguises Mare as a lost Silver princess, mixed in with the Reds under special circumstances. Mare must then perform every action carefully, as revealing her true identity would mean death, but also the regal Silvers are bloodthirsty animals, always eager to take out the others. Even with this already treacherous lifestyle, Mare isn't ready to sit back lavishly and marry a prince. She's determined  to overturn the crown from the inside and give equality for the Reds, no matter who she has to use. After all, anyone can betray anyone.
I think Red Queen did wonderfully on showing a new take on equality issues, and it intrigued me how well the conflict between red bloods and silver bloods reflected problems society faces today. Aveyard's writing was excellent, capable of foreshadowing upcoming events without ever making things blatantly obvious. The author didn't hold back at all in bloodshed or betrayal, which was much better than daintily making a character fall off a cliff then come back to life. Red Queen's plot was fascinating from the beginning, but Aveyard's writing takes it to a whole other level. The novel was everything I had hoped it to be and more. I especially loved that despite some romance, Mare makes it very clear she doesn't need it to get things done. Each of the characters, not even just the main character, show a lot of depth. I adored this book.
I would rate this book a 10/10 and highly recommend it.
~Mushu

The End or Something Like That by Ann Dee Ellis

Compelling. Raw. Powerful. These are the words which came to mind as I was reading The End or Something Like That. Emmy considers herself a loser: plain, insecure, and nothing when standing beside her gorgeous best friend Kim. It sounds like a cliche teenage novel right? Unpopular girl secretly jealous of her perfect bestie who forever steals the spotlight. Except this isn't a stereotypical book. And Kim is dead. This is the novel of one teenage girl, trying to strive past her inner struggles as Emmy tries and tries again to communicate with Kim's spirit. Because Kim promised, she carefully spent her last days planning to return and make everything right.
Ellis uses the word "said" a lot, which I didn't appreciate very much, but the awkward, informal writing gives a unique aspect to the book. You can strongly feel Emmy's voice coming through and her emotions are straightforward. There are no intricate descriptions or wordy dialogues to blur anything out. Everything is right there. Her grief is so real as the book jumps back between the past and the present. Emmy goes through much more than just crying in her closet regretting everything (although this does happen). Ellis manages to skillfully portray the very real emotions that go through the mind of a young girl- and she doesn't take the worn path to do so.

My biggest problem would have to be the ending. Despite masterfully developing the story and Emmy's character, Ellis wraps everything up with extreme speed- which is simply messy.There was so much room to create a moving ending, but she just drops it. Excuse my SPOILER!! here because I think this is very important to mention: In the final scene, Emmy goes to Kim's favorite place, really hoping that this time she will actually appear (Also, is this fantasy or not? There are spirits, but not really? I CAN'T TELL?) and she has her family and friends supporting her. Instead, she sees the boy that she's kind of starting to have a crush on. He's been waiting for her all day. He kisses her in the rain. Emmy can't believe a girl like her actually has someone who likes her this way. They hold hands and go back together. She's very happy and she's finally over all that grief that's been pulling her around this entire book. Kim is probably watching from somewhere and is happy for her. The-End. It's almost as if Ellis is saying a girl needs a boy to pull her out of the darkness. As if having a boyfriend makes a girl complete and fixes all her problems.
I'm very torn by this book. I really grew to love it until I reached such a disappointing end. I can't help but wonder if Ellis had something more planned but forgot and just cut it off there thinking "this is good enough." I'm seriously at a loss. What's the message of this book supposed to be?
For the perspective of one wonderful character and the raw story told, I think it is still worth reading.
Tell me in the comments what you think. Do you agree?
~Mushu

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

With so many parodies and alternate versions and spin offs, finding the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was more difficult than I expected it to be. Quite honestly, I love the concept more than I ended up loving this original book.
As many of you may be familiar with it, I'll keep the summary brief. This book is about a young girl named Alice, bored of her lessons and bored of looking at books with no pictures. When she happens across a white rabbit in a waistcoat, Alice follows the creature into a rabbit hole where she falls into Wonderland. Wonderland is a world with seemingly no logic and strange animals and creatures which speak like civilized people. Alice journeys through the land until she can find a way back home.
What was the main plot of this book? Did I just completely miss the conflict of the story? Is the point of the book to get out a message that went completely over my head? I have so many questions because, after finally reading the novel, I found no plot to it whatsoever. I struggle to even find deep meanings behind the bizarre creatures (the only things I come up with seem like desperate attempts to answer why cats bark to smell a tree's sense of humor). As of this moment, the conclusion I have is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a whimsical classic simply to entertain the youth from years past. I didn't fancy Carroll's writing much either.
I love the Alice in Wonderland concept so, so, much and all the renditions of it, but I didn't favor the actual book as much. I didn't hate it, I just had very high expectations which this novel failed to meet. I found it to be drab and uneventful. Yet I appreciate being able to finally have read the book for myself.
I would still recommend that people read this, because it is indeed a classic, and it's always fun to catch when another piece references or alludes to Alice in Wonderland.
I rate this book 5.5/10
~Mushu


*Note: It also occurs to me that- what if this book I read is not in fact the original? How upsetting.