Sally's Lament

 Sally's Lament: A Twisted Tale

I was a little nervous when I started this book. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a big thing in my household. I wasn't sure what to expect. It was such a good book!!! It was so fun to see Jack and Sally together and the blossoming of their love. But having a problem in Christmas town that Sally and Jack helped fix was not at all what I expected and kept me on edge wondering what was going to happen next. Such a fun read, especially right now during the beginning of fall. 

Fate Be Changed

Fate Be Changed-A Twisted Tale

 I needed something a little more light after the last book I read. Then I remembered there were more Twisted Tales series that I hadn't read yet. The movie Brave I think is often overlooked by a lot of people as well as a few others but we'll stick to Brave. So I was excited to start reading this Twisted Tale. Merida goes to the witch for a spell to change her mother. But instead of giving the spell to her mother in the form of a cake. Merida ate the cake instead. By doing this she is somehow transported back in time and finds her mother as a young princess. Merida has to race against the clock to not only make sure her parents meet and fall in love but before Merida herself is turned into a black bear.

The twist in this was so fun and it was interesting to see a different side of Merida's Parents King Fergus and Queen Elinore and to delve deeper into their characters.  I have to admit the whole time travel thing does make my head hurt to think about. But it gives such a quirky twist that it's easy to focus on the rest of the story. 

Cannibalism Culture: The Bushido Horror in WWll

Cannibalism Culture: The Bushido Horror in WWll 

So this book was NOTHING like I thought it was going to be. I guess I didn't read the synopsis close enough because I didn't realize it was literally about cannibalism during World War 2. None the less I did find it interesting but also very disturbing. I have read a lot of books about The second world war and I thought there wasn't going to be much about this war that would surprise me anymore. Enter this book. The author talks about how some of the reasons for  the Japanese soldiers to turn to cannibalism was due to starvation and little to no supplies. But he also says that there was a lot who looked down upon their enemy and those affiliated with them so much. That they didn't see them as human at all. He also speculates that it could be a way of ultimate victory over the enemy by consuming their flesh. the authors go on to say that there is still much speculation regarding why some of these Japanese soldiers and commanders performed these war crimes. But this is a topic from WW2 that hasn't been researched as much as others. With the years slipping by and the generations that lived through the war get older and dying and taking their stories with them, there could be no way of finding out more answers.
 

Extra's

 Extras By: Scott Westerfeld

Honestly after the last book I wasn't quite sure where the story was going to go from there. So I was slightly surprised to start this book and find it 3 years into the future. Okay that makes sense. But what floored me was the completely new characters and city. It was a little distracting for me at first but I finally just gave into the storyline. When Tally Youngblood was mentioned (as the most famous person globally) I though ok well at least she's "in" the book. 

It was interesting to see how the cultures in the series had evolved from the last book and to see all the changes and to get to know characters such as Aya Fuse who wants more than anything to be famous like her brother as a type of reporter or digital journalist. In order to do that she puts herself in a lot of precarious situations until she discovers a story of potential world ending consequences. When her story goes live for all to see it rockets her to fame. But also alerts the new "Special Circumstances" and Tally Youngblood herself to come meet Aya and dig deeper into this story.

This was not at all what I was expecting and Scott Westerfeld really keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what's going to happen and how is it going to get resolved as the book gets closer and closer to the end. I actually really enjoyed this book and it may potentially be my favorite in the series. 

Specials

 Specials By: Scott Westerfeld

This book started out much like the others, so I was expecting just that kind of story line but then it all changed. The author did a really good job flipping everything on its head. I thought I had the story somewhat figured out. But when I was done with the book I was left wondering what just happened, The bad guy I thought was the bad guy isn't/wasn't the bad guy and the story wasn't anything like I thought it was going to be. After each book, I felt like I at least knew or had a base impression on what to expect from the next book. Not this time. I cant wait to get into the next book just to see what happens and how this story continues.

Pretties

 

Pretties By: Scott Westerfeld

Continuing the adventures of Tally Youngblood it was interesting to see the transition that was made with the character from the first book (Uglies) to this one. As well as the other characters associated with her mostly Paris and Shay. It also took a minute to get use to the new lingo this book had what the characters call "pretty" talk. The book started out very fast paced, it leveled off a bit and part of the story that was told I have a feeling is going to be important in the future books but didn't seem to align with the story as much as the rest. A sort of side story I guess, but like i said I think its going to come into play a lot more in the other books.

Uglies

 Uglies By: Scott Westerfeld

I actually stumbled upon the movie on Netflix before I realized this was a book series. It didn't take long once the movie ended more abruptly than I had anticipated. So I went searching for the reason and discovered it was based off this series. This is another post apocalyptic story about how society changed and "adapted" after a nonnuclear type fallout. There wasn't to many big surprises since I had already seen the movie, but the book is still definitely better. I am excited to continue on to the next book.