Four

Four by Veronica Roth

Published- 8th July 2014
Publisher- Harper Collins
Pages- 285 pages (paperback)



How did Four come to pick Dauntless in the Choosing Ceremony? Why did he choose to leave Abnegation? Will his life be any different once he gets to Dauntless and will he make any friends when he gets there? This novel is all about Four and his life before he met Tris Prior and the events in Divergent.

Four is my favourite character in the Divergent series so it was good to read about his life before he met Tris. I liked finding out why he wanted to leave Dauntless and why he chose not to become a Dauntless leader after Max stepped down. New characters were introduced in this novel such as Amar. We also learnt why Eric dislikes Four so much, which in my opinion is just because Four comes from Abnegation and Eric hates anyway from that faction. The events of this novel end just before the new initiates take their final initiation tests to see who comes top from Tris's group of transfers. However, there are 3 short scenes at the end of this novel which fit into different parts of the short stories. This 3 scenes are all about Tris- the first jumper, tour around the Dauntless living quarters and when Four gets drunk.

This was a really quick read as it's only 285 pages long. The writing flows really well so there aren't any difficult words to pronounce. Tris is only featured within the last short story in this novel and the 3 short scenes at the end of the novel. It also surprised me to find out that Four already knew his mother was still alive and didn't find out in Insurgent like I originally thought he did. Four is a person who likes spending a lot of time by himself rather than with his fellow Dauntless.

Overall, this was a really good novel and I gave it 5/5 stars. I loved reading about my favourite character in the Divergent series. I finished this book really quickly within 3 days. I can't wait to find out what happens in the last book of this series when I eventually read Allegiant. It's just a shame that the last film in the series has been split into 2 with the first being called Allegiant and the 2nd being called Ascendant. Definitely give this novel a read if you love the Divergent series and if you love Four. Or if you just love any books by Veronica Roth.


                                Rating 5/5
    

The Martian

The Martian by Andy Weir

Published- 13th February 2014
Publisher- Del Ray
Pages- 369 pages (hardback)

Mark Watney is a botanist and engineer, but he becomes trapped on Mars after a freak accident. Will he make it off Mars alive? How will he survive on Mars? Will anyone rescue him in time?

I really enjoyed this novel and it has become one of my favourite novels that I've read this year. I'm not a big science fan, but I loved reading all the scientific elements of this novel. The scientific elements helped us get inside Mark Watney's mind in his battle for survival. We learnt about everything he needed to do in terms of food, water and how to make Mars a livable planet for him to survive on. There was also a bit of maths thrown into some parts of this novel.

Mark Watney is a great character because of his personality, sense of humor and the way he would do anything to survive. One of my favourite quotes from Mark is 'In your face Neil Armstrong', so I'm glad this quote has made it into the movie. In the movie Mark Watney will be played by the brilliant Matt Damon. Mark always tried to see the positive side to things by making jokes and finding ways to fix any problems that occurred. Some of his ideas were really funny to read about, like towards the end of the novel he wanted to become like Iron Man to try to get back to Hermes. 

I also liked reading the parts about the people on Earth who were doing everything they could to get Mark Watney back alive. You also got points of view from the crew of Hermes and how they were feeling after leaving Mark behind. The staff at JPL had to do a lot of work to figure out how to get Mark home and this was portrayed in the writing of the novel. It was easy to follow the whole way and easy to read. Some of the scientific words were hard to pronounce, but it helps you learn more. 

Overall, this is one of my favourite novels of this year. I give this novel 5/5 stars. I've never read a novel before about people trapped on different planets so it was a really interesting read for me. I can't wait to see how different the film is from the novel and to basically see how good the film is. Hopefully I will enjoy the film just as much as I enjoyed reading this novel. If you love novels about different planets, battles for survival or science novels then this is definitely a must read for you.

                                 Rating 5/5
    

The 100 Trilogy

The 100 Trilogy by Kass Morgan

Published- 29th August 2013, 16th September 2014 & 24th February 2015
Publisher- Little, Brown and Company & Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages- 323 pages (paperback), 320 pages (paperback) & 352 pages (paperback)




The 100
The 100 is about a group of children who are sent to Earth after a cataclysmic event basically wiped out the entire Earth population. Some parts of the Earth have been mutated by the radiation levels and the leaders on the ship sent the children to Earth to find out if it was safe for everyone to return. But are they alone on Earth or not? 

I liked how each chapter was told by a different character. The four main points of view are Clarke, Bellamy, Wells and Glass. Each chapter was really short so it was easy to read a lot at one time. I thought it would be hard following the current events and the flashbacks, but it flowed really smoothly throughout the novel and it was easy to remember everything that was happening. The one character I didn't really like reading about was Glass.

I know it was important to read about what was happening to the other people left behind on the ship after the 100 got sent to Earth. However, her chapters seemed a bit pointless to me as it was mainly about her will they won't they love life with Luke. From her chapters though we did find out what was happening to the Chancellor after the events at the start of the book with the dropships. 

2 characters I loved reading about were Clarke and Bellamy. They were brave individuals who would do anything to protect the people they care about. They would also stand up for their friends/family members. Wells was a good character also as he would do anything for Clarke. Bellamy's sister Octavia was a bit annoying in my opinion as she always acts like the weak little girl who wants other people to do everything for her. Hopefully my opinion of Octavia will change in the next books. 

I do not know how different the TV show is from the book as I have yet to watch the TV show. Will be starting that soon though hopefully. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I give it 5/5 stars. I can't wait to read the 2nd book and I will be starting that shortly. Then will read the 3rd book straight after I finish the 2nd one. If you love dystopian books then this is definitely the novel for you and especially if you love the 100 TV show.

The 100 Day 21
The 100 start being attacked, but who are the Earthborns and what do they want? What is more dangerous life on Earth or life on the ship? Will Bellamy and Clarke find Octavia? The battle for survival on Earth starts now, but who will survive?

This was a good sequel to The 100. It contained lots of action packed moments like the first book did. I started to like Glass a bit more this time as it was important to learn about life on the ship. There was a fight for survival on the ship as well as a battle for survival on Earth. We also learnt exactly what happened to Luke's friend Carter and why this happened. I did not expect that ending to Glass's story at the end of this novel, that was quite surprising. Reading about what happened to people on the ship such as Sonja, Luke, Camille and the Chancellor was important as it leads up to the final novel.

I liked the romance which blossomed between Clarke and Bellamy throughout the novel. There was also a romance blossoming between Wells and Sasha. I did like reading these parts of the novel as there weren't too many of them. These scenes also lead into other parts of the novel such as the search for Octavia and finding where the Earthborns live. Bellamy was still my favourite character as he was brave, willing to do anything for his sister and tried to make sure the 100 survived by finding them food. Clarke also found out something important at the end of this novel which also leads into the final novel. 

Overall, I gave this novel 5/5 stars as it was quite action packed and was really easy to get through. Took me a few days to finish this novel, but I loved it. I still have yet to watch the TV show, but I shall be starting that soon hopefully. Will next be starting the 3rd/final novel in this trilogy. Can't wait to see how the trilogy finishes and what will happen to each of the characters in their battle for survival on Earth.

The 100 Homecoming
Who will survive the final battle on Earth between the Colonists and the Earthborns? What really happened to Clarke's parents and will she ever find out? Will Bellamy be executed for getting the Chancellor shot and fleeing to Earth on a dropship with the other colonists? It all comes down to this epic thrilling conclusion to The 100 trilogy.

This was a great ending to The 100 trilogy. I loved all the action that happened throughout the novel including all the fight scenes. Was good to see how each character was surviving in their own different ways as they battled for survival on Earth. Lots of new characters were introduced in this novel as they landed on Earth from the other dropships after escaping from the colony.

Clarke and Bellamy were still my favourite characters as I liked to read about their struggles, what they would do to protect the people they love and how they survive in different ways. Glass was still my least favourite character, but I loved reading about her struggle for survival when she went off on her own with Luke to make their own lives on Earth. Wells proved he was a worthy leader of the group by everything he did for them by helping them to survive, find food, battle for their freedom and battle for their lives. 

The story flowed smoothly and the writing of the novel was great. It was definitely an easy and quick read. I didn't get confused between the flashbacks and the present storyline during the novel. The story only had 3 real settings throughout the whole series, but that was fine with me as you didn't get too confused between where each piece of action was taking place. The 3 main settings were the Colony in space, the Colonists camp on Earth and Mount Weather where the Earthborns live. 

Overall this was a brilliant trilogy of novels. I give this novel 5/5 stars. My overall rating for the whole trilogy is 5/5 stars. I loved this dystopian trilogy. It was similar to the Hunger Games, but without the games for survival. If you love dystopian and battle for survival novels then this would be a good book series for you. This is also for fans who love the TV show of the 100 and want to see how different the TV show is from the actual books. There will be a lot of differences between the 2, but this trilogy is definitely worth a read.


                      Rating for trilogy 5/5
    

Black Ice

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Published- 7th October 2014
Publisher- Simon and Schuster UK
Pages- 384 pages (ARC paperback)

A girl is murdered in the first chapter of this novel, but who killed her and why? Britt and Korbie are going on a trekking holiday in the mountains and they encounter 2 mysterious guys when they get caught in a snowstorm. Who are Mason and Shaun. Also, why has Calvin, Korbie's brother, suddenly returned from university?

I really enjoyed this novel as it was a thriller and it contained elements of romance throughout. The whole novel leaves you trying to guess who the real killer is and why they were killing these young girls. It also leaves you wondering more about Shaun and Mason and why thy are trying to hide out in the mountains. There was action straight away in the first chapter, but it did kinda slow down towards the middle. However, the action picked up again towards the end of the novel.

Britt was a great character in my opinion as she would do anything from her friend Korbie so they both got off the mountain alive. She was brave and willing to do whatever it took. Korbie annoyed me at times as she moaned a lot and complained and basically didn't believe anything anyone told her about her family. So in my opinion she wasn't that likeable of a character.

Mason was a brilliant male lead character. He wanted to protect Britt and make sure that Shaun didn't hurt her. Their romance story was a good side plot to the main novel. Shaun was a great bad guy as he would hurt whoever he wanted to just so they could get off the mountain without being caught by the police. I did like Calvin at first, but the more you found out about him just changed your opinion of him. 

I was lucky enough to go to a questions/answers session with Becca Fitzpatrick at Foyles in London and meet the her too. She was such a lovely lady and signed my copy of Black Ice. This was the first Becca Fitzpatrick novel I've read, but I might have to give the Hush Hush series a read in the future.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable thriller for me. Loved trying to guess what was going to happen next and I always try to guess who the killers are. I gave this novel 5 out of 5 stars. Give it a read if you are a fan of Becca Fitzpatrick or just love reading thrillers/romance novels. 

                                    Rating 5/5

    

The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Published- 3rd January 2013
Publisher- Penguin Books
Pages- 316 pages (Paperback)



Such a moving and heart-wrenching story. The basic storyline of this novel is about cancer. Hazel Grace has terminal cancer of the lungs and Augustus Waters has osteosarcoma (cancer of the bones). The Fault in our Stars follows their romance story from when they meet at Support Group to the end of the novel. The novel has such a heart-breaking ending which made me cry.

As you could guess what was going to happen at the end of the novel it was still sad and upsetting to read. The novel was well-written and contained lots of description. You were pulled into the novel so the reader could imagine what was happening throughout the entire novel. As the book was well written all the characters were really likeable so you could really relate to them.

Augustus was a really likeable character and my favourite in the novel. He would have done anything for Hazel as he loved her so much. Hazel was a great female lead as she just wanted to be loved and do the things that other children could do. However, because of her cancer she couldn't be like other children as she had to be hooked up to an oxygen tank every day. Isaac was a good character too, but it was really sad when he went blind. The three of those characters together was god as they were best friends and really cared about each other. Hazel fell in love with Augustus in the end because of the person he was, not because of his cancer.

This is one of my favourite novels because it is such a moving story. The characters are very relate-able and it is a topic that can happen to any person in the world. However, this is the first novel I have read by John Green. Hopefully, I will read some more of his novels in the near future. This is a novel I think everyone should read soon. They will love it and cry their eyes out at the end of the novel. I gave this novel 5/5 stars. Get reading this novel book lovers.


                                  Rating 5/5
    

The Hunger Games Trilogy

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Published- 31st October 2008/1st September 2009/24th August 2010
Publisher- Scholastic Press
Pages- 374 (Hardcover)/391 (Hardcover)/390 (Hardcover)

This was a brilliant trilogy of novels. The whole series contains lots of action, fights, deaths and even a bit of love. I cannot choose one book as my favourite as I loved the whole series. So for me there is no stand out book as they are all as good as each other.

The Hunger Games sets off the series well. To explain what The Hunger Games are is a tournament where the tributes (2 from each district 1-12) fight to the death and only 1 person comes out alive. As you can imagine tributes die in lots of horrific and disturbing ways throughout the games. However, as you know 2 tributes come out of the Hunger Games.

Catching Fire continues the story really well and starts Katniss's journey as the Mockingjay. The Mockingjay is a symbol for the rebels (the people who turn against the Capitol), for example it is their symbol of hope and freedom. This novel contains another Hunger Games called The Quarter Quell (75th Hunger Games) where previous tribute winners are chosen to go into the arena. So as District 12 has only had 3 tribute winners Katniss and Peeta have to go back into the arena to fight to survive.

Mockingjay is the last novel and the action continues once again. This novel contains loads of deaths, but no Hunger Games event this time. This time Katniss is fighting to get to the Capitol so she can set everyone from each of the districts free. However, as missions always go there are lots of deaths along the way and some deaths you will not predict. The deaths in this novel are really upsetting at some points. In my opinion the series has a really sad ending which involves the 3 main characters Katniss, Gale and Peeta.

Throughout this series I have different favourite characters. Of course I love Katniss as she is a strong female lead who just wants freedom for the people of Panem. In the Hunger Games I really liked Rue's character. She was a loveable 12 year old girl and it was really sad when she was killed in the games. From Catching Fire & Mockingjay I really liked Finnick. At first you thought he was going to be a brute liked Cato, but he was nothing like that as he protected Katniss & Peeta in the Quarter Quell. He also sacrificed himself so Katniss could get away in Mockingjay. Throughout the series I also really liked Gale. He would do anything for Katniss cos he loved her. He was brave and selfless and only wanted Katniss to survive as she was his best friend & the love of his life. However, you will have to read the books to find out if they end up together.

Overall, this was a fantastic series of novels and definitely one of my favourite series of novels along with Twilight. For each book I gave them 5/5 stars. So the overall rating for this series is 15/15 stars. A definite must read for any book lovers. Plus in my opinion there aren't that many differences between The Hunger Games book and movie. So it doesn't really matter if you read the book first or watch the movie first. Get reading this series book lovers!!!!!!

                     Rating 5/5 for each book
    

Rules of Attraction

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Published- April 27th 2010
Publisher- Walker and Company
Pages- 324 pages (Paperback)

This is the 2nd novel in the Perfect Chemistry trilogy. In my opinion this was a brilliant novel just like Perfect Chemistry. It tells the romance story between Carlos Fuentes and Kiara Westford. This novel kind of starts the same way that Perfect Chemistry did in the way that Carlos and Kiara start off hating each other and then they start developing feelings for each other. The story finishes with a chapter which is 26 years in the future so you find out what happens for Kiara and Carlos in the future.

This trilogy of novels keep you gripped until the very last page as you just want to keep reading to find out if Kiara and Carlos become a couple. Kiara is a girl from a rich family, whereas Carlos is a poor guy who is just like his brother Alex in many ways. Carlos wants to be in a gang, he's a hardman, likes fixing cars and is a mystery to others. Carlos and Kiara have their lives changed forever when Carlos comes to live with the Westford family after something (I can't say what as it would spoil the story) happens to him.

Kiara is a really good main female character as she has a lot of males traits about her. For example, she likes fixing cars, climbing mountains and doing fun/daring challenges. She starts off innocent (like Brittany), but Carlos makes her come out of her shell. Carlos is also an irresistible male character (like Alex) as he is a mystery to women, but in the end he would do anything for the woman he loves.

Overall, this novel shows how this couple decides their own future and battle through the challenges standing in their path. Throughout the whole novel challenges are coming for every angle and Carlos and Kiara have to try and get through them whether that be together or alone. This is definitely a novel everyone needs to read if you love romance novels or just loved Perfect Chemistry. I give this book a rating of 5 out of 5 stars as it was a fantastic novel. Chain Reaction is book 3 in the trilogy and it focuses on Alex and Carlos' younger brother Luis.

                             Rating 5/5
    

Perfect Chemistry

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Published- January 1st 2011
Publisher- Walker Books for Young Readers
Pages- 360 pages (Paperback)

I have never actually read a romance novel before and in my opinion this was an amazing book. That is why I was taking my time reading it as I just wanted the story to go on and on. It tells the romance story between Alex Fuentes and Brittany Ellis. The story starts from them knowing/hating each other at school going right through into the future and what happens to them both.

There are lots of trials and tribulations thoughout this whole story which keep you gripped until the very last page. Everyone at school thinks Brittany is perfect, but in her world she is far from perfect. Whereas, everyone at school see Alex as a hardman gangster, but is there more to him than first meets the eye. Only reading this story will tell you the answer to that. Both Brittany and Alex's lives are changed forever when they are partnered up in chemistry class.

I think Brittany is a brilliant main female character as she starts off the perfect innocent girl and when partnered with Alex in chemistry becomes a teenage rebel. Whereas, Alex is a brilliant/irresistible main male character as he starts off the hardman gang member and becomes the guy who would do anything for the girl he loves. Without giving too much plotline away this is the perfect romance story which everyone needs to read.

Overall, this has the perfect couple going through situations lots of couples go through. Alex is an irresistible guy who I think every girl who reads this novel will fall in love with. Alex is perfect who would protect his girl from his world of gang violence. My rating for this book is definitely 5 out of 5 stars. I can't wait to read the 2nd book in this series which is Rules of Attraction. Rules of Attraction focuses on Alex's younger brother Carlos. Everyone pick yourselves up a copy of this novel and have a read as I'm sure you will all love it as much as I did.

                             Rating 5/5