So, prac is over, huzzah. I enjoyed it immensely, but I'm glad it's over. It was exhausting. Intense.
And now I head into what is going to be the busiest week of the year for me, in which I have six uni assignments due that I've bared started due to being on prac, and am returning to working 1.5 days per week and attending classes. Oh fun.
In compensation O:) I was very Bad and bought myself some books on Friday: The Awake, by Glenda Larke, Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher, and Don't Judge A Girl By Her Cover, by Ally Carter. Much excitementness :)
And then I was extra naughty and spent far too long today reading the Glenda Larke one - which, I must say, was actually really good. It's a random one I picked up after seeing it in the stores a few weeks ago. Larke is an Australian author, which often means nothing but sometimes means the work will be somewhat parochial, and I hadn't read her before - but I was pleasantly surprised. I picked up the book more to test out the voice of the novel (written in first person) than anything; I wanted a quick happy read, and what I was really craving was the new Lisa Shearin book, but that's not available in Aus. So Larke was my fall-back, to see if it would be any good - and I'm pleased to say it was. It's not as immediately action-packed, and it didn't hook me right away - I mean, it was good, but not unputdownable - but the further I went the better it got, which is always great :o) And it ended with a bang, and in a most satisfying manner, leaving me rather desperate for the other two books in the series :D So I must say Larke's done well :)
The Jim Butcher I expect will be fabulous, and I'm trying desperately to resist the temptation to pick it up and devour it; in fact, ditto the Ally Carter, which is the new one out in her Gallagher Girls series which both I and the mini sis love :)
So yes. Some exciting reading happening - or not happening, in fact, as I poke listlessly at homework instead *wrinkles nose*
Anyway. Better get back to it, I suppose. :)
Showing posts with label Ally Carter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ally Carter. Show all posts
31 May 2009
21 January 2009
Book Review: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You
Quick Stats
Genre - YA
Length - ~280pages
Author - Ally Carter
Overview
Cammie Morgan looks like she goes to a private school for rich, snobby girls. What the school actually is is the Gallagher Academy, a spy-training school for girl geniuses. Her sophomore year at the school (yes, this is book one) seems to be going well - but even their new class, Covert Operations, doesn't teach her what she needs to know: how to speak Boy. Especially when said boy is sweet, funny, good-looking - and normal. Normal's the last thing Cammie is...
First Impressions
Absolutely fabulous. Like a really good YA, the scene is set quickly, the voice develops strongly, and the plot Starts Happening.
High Points
For starters, the whole premise. Yes, I admit, I'm wildly into secret and spies and assassins and societies and whatnot, so the idea of a secret spy school that trains girls only, and poses as a posh boarding school is tremendously exciting.
The voice is great, there's plenty of tension, and the ending isn't quite predictable. There's a great balance of 'real' teenageness and adult story-telling. I also adore the fact that this book is completely clean - no language, nothing worthy of more than a PG rating. For those of you that must know such things, the 'smush' is pretty much behind curtain.
Which is another thing I adore about this book: it's from the POV of a teenage girl, AND it avoids sappy romance and unrealistic portrayals of relationships. Those of you that know me well know that an absolutely HUGE pet peeve of mine is the unrealistic relationships that so much of the media portrays, aimed at teenage girls with their susceptability to sap (yes, myself included when I was a teen). It just breeds SO MANY ISSUES - but I won't go into that here. And just for the record, I've nothing against romance.
Low Points
None, really - but it is a quick, light-hearted read, so if you need more meat in your stories this might not be for you. It's not dark or edgy :) It's also very definitely YA, so if you need stories with subplots, multi-POVs, and tangled, complex storylines, this isn't your thing.
Rating
If I was doing stars, it would have 5. As it is, I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You gets to be a pocket book - one that you carry around in your pocket until you finish it, because it's just. that. good. Mind, mine never went into my pocket, as I read it in one sitting, but yes O:)
Genre - YA
Length - ~280pages
Author - Ally Carter
Overview
Cammie Morgan looks like she goes to a private school for rich, snobby girls. What the school actually is is the Gallagher Academy, a spy-training school for girl geniuses. Her sophomore year at the school (yes, this is book one) seems to be going well - but even their new class, Covert Operations, doesn't teach her what she needs to know: how to speak Boy. Especially when said boy is sweet, funny, good-looking - and normal. Normal's the last thing Cammie is...
First Impressions
Absolutely fabulous. Like a really good YA, the scene is set quickly, the voice develops strongly, and the plot Starts Happening.
High Points
For starters, the whole premise. Yes, I admit, I'm wildly into secret and spies and assassins and societies and whatnot, so the idea of a secret spy school that trains girls only, and poses as a posh boarding school is tremendously exciting.
The voice is great, there's plenty of tension, and the ending isn't quite predictable. There's a great balance of 'real' teenageness and adult story-telling. I also adore the fact that this book is completely clean - no language, nothing worthy of more than a PG rating. For those of you that must know such things, the 'smush' is pretty much behind curtain.
Which is another thing I adore about this book: it's from the POV of a teenage girl, AND it avoids sappy romance and unrealistic portrayals of relationships. Those of you that know me well know that an absolutely HUGE pet peeve of mine is the unrealistic relationships that so much of the media portrays, aimed at teenage girls with their susceptability to sap (yes, myself included when I was a teen). It just breeds SO MANY ISSUES - but I won't go into that here. And just for the record, I've nothing against romance.
Low Points
None, really - but it is a quick, light-hearted read, so if you need more meat in your stories this might not be for you. It's not dark or edgy :) It's also very definitely YA, so if you need stories with subplots, multi-POVs, and tangled, complex storylines, this isn't your thing.
Rating
If I was doing stars, it would have 5. As it is, I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You gets to be a pocket book - one that you carry around in your pocket until you finish it, because it's just. that. good. Mind, mine never went into my pocket, as I read it in one sitting, but yes O:)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
