My Review of: Meritropolis by Joel Ohman

Meritropolis by Joel Ohman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis: The year is AE3, 3 years after the Event. Within the walls of Meritropolis, 50,000 inhabitants live in fear, ruled by the brutal System that assigns each citizen a merit score that dictates whether they live or die. Those with the highest scores thrive, while those with the lowest are subject to the most unforgiving punishment–to be thrust outside the city gates, thrown to the terrifying hybrid creatures that exist beyond.

But for one High Score, conforming to the System just isn’t an option. Seventeen-year-old Charley has a brother to avenge. And nothing–not even a totalitarian military or dangerous science–is going to stop him.

Where humankind has pushed nature and morals to the extreme, Charley is amongst the chosen few tasked with exploring the boundaries, forcing him to look deep into his very being to discern right from wrong. But as he and his friends learn more about the frightening forces that threaten destruction both without and within the gates, Meritropolis reveals complexities they couldn’t possibly have bargained for…

My Review: I received a copy of this book through netgalley, because I thought it would be something I’d like. I was only half right. The reason I’m rating this at three stars, is because even though I liked enough of the story, the sentences felt awkward to read, especially out loud, and I didn’t really understand what really happened throughout parts of the book. Three stars isn’t that bad, though. The characters were a little… different, a little flat at times, but the story was enough to keep me interested. I wasn’t really a fan of those animal combinations, though, I feel like they were a good idea, but they definitely could have been more, you know what I mean? There was something missing in them. The story was interesting, a teenager who’s got an anger problem and a genius level IQ, faces off against the world he knows, basically by himself. I didn’t like, however, how they killed a lot of the animals in the story. Built up this big hype about how hard it would be to kill them, and then Charley just walks in and stabs them, and they die. Or however some of those worked. It just wasn’t what I was hoping for. The ‘merit’ thing was a kind of interesting, but I didn’t like how it turned out in the end. I feel like I didn’t really get an ending, or at least one I was hoping for. I don’t know what else to say. It definitely was interesting, but just not something I’d read again. Thanks for reading.

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My Review of: Imitation (Clone Chronicles #1) by Heather Hildenbrand

Imitation by Heather Hildenbrand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis: Everyone is exactly like me. There is no one like me.

Ven wrestles with these contradicting truths every day. A clone of wealthy eighteen-year-old Raven Rogen, Ven knows everything about the girl she was created to serve: the clothes she wears, the boys she loves, the friends she loves to hate. Yet she’s never met the Authentic Raven face-to-face.

Imitations like Ven only get to leave the lab when they’re needed—to replace a dead Authentic, donate an organ, or complete a specific mission. And Raven has never needed Ven . . . until now.

When there is an attack on Raven’s life, Ven is thrust into the real world, posing as Raven to draw out the people who tried to harm her. But as Ven dives deeper into Raven’s world, she begins to question everything she was ever told. She exists for Raven, but is she prepared to sacrifice herself for a girl she’s never met?

My Review: I requested this book from netgalley, because the topic of clones really interested me. I thought this would be a good book to read, and it sounded interesting. I don’t really love the cover, however. This book is about a girl named Ven, cloned from Raven Rogen, a girl who’s terrifyingly powerful for her age, and comes from a wealthy family. Though she’s been watching Raven through videos for her whole 5 year old life, (she was created as a teenager five years ago) she’s never actually met her original. She has built a life around living in this (I’m guessing) underground facility, making friends, working out, learning about Raven. And then the day comes when she gets a note from a superior that no one ever comes back from meeting. She’s sent out into the field, with no experience preciously outside of what she knows, and immediately has orders to start becoming Raven Rogen. That seemed really hard for her. She’s bullied by everyone she comes in contact to, who knows her secret. She’s not the real Raven. She meets the originals of the people she knew in “Twig City”, and though she doesn’t really know what’s going on, she tries her hardest. I really liked this book. It took a while for me to get through it, but I finished it, and the more I read the more I liked. Some parts really grossed me out, like Daniels breath… Ugh. Some parts I didn’t really like, how she had to learn about all these people, but she never actually met most of them. It was a good read, however, and I definitely think you should check it out if you’re looking for something fresh to read, or if you like the idea of clones in a book. Thanks for reading.

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My Review of: The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis: “Ori’s dead because of what happened out behind the theater, in the tunnel made out of trees. She’s dead because she got sent to that place upstate, locked up with those monsters. And she got sent there because of me.”

The Walls Around Us is a ghostly story of suspense told in two voices—one still living and one long dead. On the outside, there’s Violet, an eighteen-year-old dancer days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement. On the inside, within the walls of a girls’ juvenile detention center, there’s Amber, locked up for so long she can’t imagine freedom. Tying these two worlds together is Orianna, who holds the key to unlocking all the girls’ darkest mysteries.

We hear Amber’s story and Violet’s, and through them Orianna’s, first from one angle, then from another, until gradually we begin to get the whole picture—which is not necessarily the one that either Amber or Violet wants us to see.

Nova Ren Suma tells a supernatural tale of guilt and innocence, and what happens when one is mistaken for the other.

My Review: I requested this book off of Netgalley because I thought it would be an interesting read. I’m surprised at how haunting this book really is. It’s beautiful. The cover is amazing, I love it, and the story kept me hooked from the moment I started reading it. I have a good feeling about this book. I hope it goes amazing places. So basically, it’s about three girls. Orianna, Violet, and Amber. Orianna is a girl who was friends with Violet for a long time, and took some risky chances for her, and ended up committing suicide in “Prison”. Though there are only two points of view in this book, I feel like I really got to know the character Orianna, and I loved her. I loved all three of them, really. They’re such… deep characters. I don’t know how to put it. They seem like real people. They have thoughts like real people, not just like someone who’s been written to say things. I absolutely loved it. This is an amazing story and I think that a lot of people are going to like it. I finished the book in one sitting, and I’m proud of that. I stayed up extra late to finish it. I needed to finish it, I needed to read more. I’m hooked. I think this might be one of my new favourites and I’m glad I got the chance to read it. Ballet dancers, murder, jail time. That makes for an amazing book. I think that’s all I want to say about that, I don’t want to spoil it for anyone! Thanks for reading.

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My Review of: Love & Profanity by Nick Healy

Love & Profanity by Nick Healy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis: Here are more than forty short, brilliant, and unforgettable true stories from writers famous and on-the-rise. Here is the intensity of daily life. Here are transformative moments arising from the mundane. Here are strange and surprising tales that tap into universal truths. Here are teenagers in full splendor and horror. Here they are, bursting with love and profanity.

My Review: To be honest, I requested this book because I thought I’d like a change for once, a book of short stories, and because I liked the cover on the book. I thought it would be awesome, and interesting. And for most of the stories, it was. I didn’t realize it was non-fiction, and that the stories in the book were actually people’s memories. That’s always cool. Some of them I really loved, and couldn’t believe they were true. Some of them, I didn’t like at all. All in all, it was a good read. It took a while for me to get through it, but that’s because I hate reading on the computer, and I couldn’t download it onto my kindle app on my phone. Here we go. There’s over fourty stories in here, and I’ll just tell you what I thought about all of them. The first four stories weren’t something I really loved. They were alright. They didn’t really interest me, though. The fifth story was amazing. I felt so bad for the person in the story, the twelve year old, and “Scary Carrie” especially. If I were there I would’ve been their friends. Didn’t really like the sixth story, but I don’t really relate to the whole party scene because I don’t drink, and I don’t party. The seventh story was really sad, the eighth story was a harsh reality, because shit happens. Literally. The ninth story wasn’t something I could directly relate to, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t scare me… Story number ten was strange, eleven was cute, and twelve was depressing, and I liked it. I can really see how these stories are transformative, and they stick with you. Story number thirteen was funny, the ha-ha kind. The fourteenth story wasn’t really something I would read normally, but I will say that I really didn’t like the boss. Story fifteen wasn’t a story I really liked or disliked. The sixteenth story scared me a lot. The seventeenth story was good, but a little confusing towards the end. The main character in the eighteenth story reminded me of me. Story number nineteen really confused me, but I kind of liked being confused by it. Number twenty marked the halfway point in the book for me, and I have to say that it really scared me, mostly because I couldn’t believe that this was someone’s memory, and that someone really did what happened in it. I could relate really well with story number twenty one, and I liked that. The twenty second story was about getting older, or that’s what I got out of it anyways. I’m not really sure I liked the twenty third story, there wasn’t anything I could really relate to in it, but I can’t relate to every single story, can I? Reading the twenty fourth story was strange. It’s like I know what it’s about, but it’s on the tip of my tongue, and I can’t completely place it. Reading the twenty fifth story scared me more than the others scared me, but that’s because I can’t believe that some of these stories are someone’s memories. Story twenty six felt very inspirational to me. I’d like more people to read it. Twenty seven was short and sweet, Twenty eight seemed to be about growing up, but it wasn’t really my thing because I don’t hunt. I liked story number twenty nine a lot. I’d love to read more. Fort FistPunch made me laugh in story number thirty. The rest of the story confused me, though. Story thirty one was cute, thirty two was a good story, and smiles are always a good thing. Number thirty three was strange, and thirty four was a good story about pushing through your fears, or that’s how I interpreted it anyways. Thirty five was about making friends and memories, and having adventures. Thirty six was about someone who finds out they have cancer, but has to be strong for their family, even though it’s a lot of work. Thirty seven was a harsh truth, and I loved it. I couldn’t really get into thirty eight, and thirty nine was a sad story. It made me say aweh. I liked story number fourty, but I’m not sure why, and the last story, fourty one, was a good story about growing up. I liked a lot of these stories and I’m glad I got the chance to read the book. Definitely check it out if you like being surprised by people’s memories, or if you just need something new to read. Thanks for reading.

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