Review: Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini (The Worldwalker Trilogy #1)

Trial by Fire | Josephine Angelini | Macmillan Children’s Books | The Wolrdwalker Trilogy #1 | Source: Bought  379 pages | Young Adult
Fantasy
Release Date: August 28th, 2014
ISBN13: 9781447260820
Goodreads

Goodreads Synopsis:

This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying experiences that others in her hometown of Salem take for granted, which is why she is determined to enjoy her first high school party with her best friend and longtime crush, Tristan. But after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class, Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly, Lily is in a different Salem—one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruelest of them all is Lillian . . . Lily’s other self in this alternate universe.

What makes Lily weak at home is what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. In this confusing world, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can’t hope to shoulder alone and a love she never expected.

Review:

Trial by Fire follows the story of Lilly Proctor. Her persistent allergies stop her from enjoying her life to the full. After a chain of events including and embarrassing situation with her long time crush, she finds herself in her alternate version of an hometown of Salem.

I am a huge fan of Angelini’s Starcrossed Trilogy so when I found out that she was writing a new trilogy about witches, I was on board regardless of the story.

Trial by Fire did not disappoint. The writing style is incredibly easy to follow, it has a way of just bringing you in to the world and the story. Lilly is not the most likable character and but it didn’t take away from the plot at all.

When it comes to witch novels you tend to find that there is little explanation behind the characters abilities. It is simply magic. I adored the concept of Crucibles and Mechanics. To have some level of rhyme and reason behind a witch’s abilities made the read so interesting!

My only gripe with this first instalment is the ending. Josephine Angelini is notorious for painful cliff-hangers. Trial by Fire is dangerously close to not being finished. Luckily its sequel,  Firewalker, comes out August 27^th, 2015.

Goodreads Average: 3.96/5.00 (Out of 6,189 ratings)

Advertisement

Review: The Hit by Melvin Burgess

The Hit | Melvin Burgess | Chicken House Publishing Stand Alone | 2.5 Stars | 303 pages | Young Adult Dystopia
Release Date: April 4th, 2013
Goodreads

Goodreads Synopsis:

“A new drug is out. Everyone is talking about it. The Hit. Take it, and you have one amazing week to live. It’s the ultimate high. At the ultimate price.

Adam is tempted. Life is rubbish, his girlfriend’s over him, his brother’s gone. So what’s he got to lose? Everything, as it turns out. It’s up to his girlfriend, Lizzie, to show him…”

Review:

I am not a huge fan of kicking off reviews on a negative point, but the fact of the matter is that this books is probably my least favourite read of 2014. This is not saying too much considering that all of my books previous to this one are not below 4 stars, but still, I had a hollow feeling of regret upon finishing.

As always, negatives out of the way first. This novel was an endless string of disappointment and missed opportunities for me. The possibilities were endless when it came down to what this could be. This book is essentially about suicide. A drug that youth are taking that is killing them after a week of the ultimate high is becoming more and more used and to be honest, I never really found out why. I think world building was non-existent. A fabulous and intriguing concept with poor execution.

The book focused on the characters journey more than the actual society. This was a huge mistake for me.

I had a certain level of empathy when it came to the characters. Again, there was not much development on their part. I basically did not want them to die, which is always a tribute to the author.

One positive element I found were the twists in the novel. I genuinely wanted to see where it went and how it finished. Although this novel was flawed, there was never a point where I didn’t want to read it.

If you want a quick read for entertainment value, this is the book for you. It was fast paced and the pacing was on point. I have heard amazing things about the rest of his books so I will definitely be checking them out.

Goodreads Average: 2.98/5 (Out of 598 ratings)

Quickie Review: Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Stolen | Lucy Christopher | Chicken House Publishing | Stand Alone | Source: Bought | 301 pages | Young Adult | Contemporary 
Release Date: September 5th, 2013 (Originally Published May 4th, 2009)
ISBN13: 9781908435750
Goodreads

Goodreads Synopsis:

“IT HAPPENED LIKE THIS.
I was stolen from an airport. Kidnapped. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Imprisoned by sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him.
This is my story. A letter to my captor.”

Review:

Stolen follows the story of Gemma, she is was kidnapped from airport in Bangkok and taken in to a hut in the desert. This is her story of survival, a letter to her captor.

This was a huge surprise for me. I never really had Lucy Christopher on my radar. I recognised her books by the fonts and cover style (good marketing technique, to be fair!) but I never really had any specific intention to read her books.

This is a very intense and real portrayal of a kidnapping. One thing I adored about this book was the writing style. I want to say that this was written in 2^nd person. Everything is described in a way that “You did this”, “You did that” and “You stole me”. It made it incredibly personal while reading it.  I felt like I was in Gemma’s shoes the whole time.

Unlike the few other kidnapping books I have read before. We have a very dense and in depth profile of bother the abductor and the abducted. We have a huge back story on Ty his intentions, although incredibly distorted are plausible and Gemma’s Stockholm syndrome is very well done and again, is plausible.

Overall, I hugely recommend this. It is a well written contemporary and is definitely one of my favourite books of this year. I read it one sitting which is testament to how good it was. I will definitely check her other books out!

 Goodreads average: 3.94/5 (Out of 34,004)