Mothership by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal

Mothership by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal
The Ever-Expanding Universe, book one
Simon Schuster books for Young Readers, 2012
ebook owned in personal collection

This book made me snort out loud so many times!  I'm so glad I finally read it.  It is the perfect blend of zany teen angst-y high school bullsh!t and science fiction (light). 

 Poor Elvie gives in to her teenage hormones ONE time with the hottie she doesn't really like but can't resist and ends up pregnant.  Unable to keep it from her Dad forever, she ends up being shipped off to an orbiting school for expectant mothers.  YES, you read that correctly.... a school for pregnant teens floating in outer space.  But, equipped with all the latest stuff and perfect for adding in things like underwater prenatal yoga to their days in the old cruise ships olympic size pool! All this would be fine... if Elvie wasn't also going to school with her arch-nemesis from her old high school... who happens to be pregnant too...and you guessed it - from the same guy!

Oh, and then their school gets attacked by aliens.  So, there's that! *snorts*

As I said, this book had me laughing the ENTIRE way through.  There was a great cast of characters, including a best friend who was so supportive in the best possible way that I wanted to adopt him for my own (Ducky, I love you!) and a hunky boy who turns out to be pretty decent, actually.  A Father who really cared and some other adults who end up seeing how smart Elvie is and working to be on
her side as sh!t goes South. 

Book two

Book two, A Stranger Thing is definitely on my list of things to read soon! If you like science fiction that's not too strenuous, and full of humor, more like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, I'd recommend giving this one a shot!

(Oh, and I just wanted to mention how much I love ALL of the various covers for this book... there are three shown above and I find them all funny and perfectly suited to the book in their own way! I kind of wish I could have posters of them all.)

     

Blog Tour - Lost in Starlight

Today, I'm happy to be part of Sherry Soule's blog tour for the first book in her new Starlight Saga, LOST IN STARLIGHT. I did the cover reveal for the book back on June 11th and I'm happy to report that the book lived up to it's very pretty cover!

Lost in Starlight 

by Sherry Soule

Starlight Saga, book one 

Publication Date: June 26, 2014

High school reporter Sloane Masterson knows she has one helluva story when she witnesses hottie Hayden Lancaster bending forks with his mind.

Like any good journalist, Sloane sets out to uncover the truth, even if it includes a little stalking. When the superhuman feats start to pile up and the undeniable heat rises between them, Hayden has no choice but to reveal his secret: he’s an alien hybrid.

They’re as different as night and day—she’s a curvy, purple-haired, horror junkie and he’s a smoking hot, antisocial, brainiac—yet the intense fascination between them refuses to go away. Even at Hayden’s insistence that dating each other is “off limits” and crazy dangerous, their fiery attraction threatens to go supernova.

Now Sloane’s dealing with creepy government agents, über snobby extraterrestrials, and a psycho alien ex-girlfriend out for revenge. After a crash course on the rules of interstellar dating, Sloane must decide if their star-crossed romance is worth risking her own life....

Now, you all know me. I have always been an avid science fiction and fantasy reader.  That's why I'm so happy to report that this book is EXACTLY the type of book that I love to take to the beach for a summer read.  Fun, fast paced, and full of romance, drama, and yes...hot boy aliens.  This book has all the elements that make me want to sit down and read it all in one giant guilty pleasure sitting. 

First off, Sloane is the perfect heroine for a girl like me.  I'm not gonna lie, I love to eat.  I also love girls who can tell it like it is and give off some of that Joss Whedon-esque Buffy like sarcasm.  Sloane is a realistic, gutsy girl who happens to be a little (well, maybe a lotta) curvy and whips around those sarcastic quips like nobody's business.  I was behind her from page one.  As her life got more crazy, I just grew to like her more and more.  

...and Hayden.  *sigh* perfect beach-read hottie...

I will definitely be reading book two in the Starlight Saga and I hope that if you, like me, can't get enough fun scifi/fantasy in your life, you'll check this one out for a quick, fun read this summer. 

For more info on LOST IN STARLIGHT and Sherry Soule, you can check out these places:

Amazon 

Sherry's Blog 

Sherry's Twitter

Full disclosure: eARC received from Author for blog tour

Dangerous

Dangerous
by Shannon Hale

How far would you go to save the world?

When Maisie Danger Brown nabbed a spot at a NASA-like summer boot camp, she never expected to uncover a conspiracy that would change her life forever.

And she definitely didn't plan to fall in love.

But now there's no going back—Maisie's the only thing standing between the Earth and annihilation. She must become the hero the world needs. The only problem is: how does a regular girl from Salt Lake City do that, exactly? It's not as though there's a handbook for this sort of thing. It's up to Maisie to come up with a plan—and find the courage to carry it out—before she loses her heart . . . and her life.

I really enjoyed this title. It's a new type of book from Shannon Hale, but she's such a talented writer that she was able to make the transition to science fiction/suspense with ease. This book has a strong, interesting, different main character - Maisie is handicapped, but never, ever lets it stop her from doing anything.  

This book combines the awesomeness of comic book heroes, with the terror of alien invasion possibilities and the responsibility of being beyond human.  Characters are fully realized and realistically flawed.  The action draws you right in and never quite let's go... I have no idea if there will ever be the need for a sequel, but if one came out, I would definitely read it! 

Full disclosure: Review copy received from VOYA; eARC received from Netgalley 

Gold Star Review: These Broken Stars

These Broken Stars
by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Starbound, book one

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they're worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help. (Description from Amazon.com)

This book is beautifully written.

I found myself savoring the actual words and phrases used to describe characters' emotions and motivations. I would find myself repeating the final sentence in a chapter, or rolling a story that either character revealed to the other around in my brain, just enjoying the way that the words evoked certain emotions.  Each chapter brought new insight into the characters and their world. 

Lilac and Tarver were both multifaceted, intriguing characters that behaved in remarkable and yet realistically imagined ways. Reading their interactions, the way that each struggled to be independent, and yet, eventually they had no choice but to rely upon one another helped to enhance the sense tension within the story.  I felt like I was on the knife's edge from almost the first page! 

I also truly loved the science fiction aspect of this book.  Though the original premise reads as Titanic in space, each scene reveals new info about the science and technology of this world.  The space exploration reads as a wholly possible near future for our culture and each bit about the tech they used seemed viable and well researched.  I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing where the next book in this series goes.  I'd love to explore some of the other terraformed planets in their universe!

I loved this book enough that I decided to give it a GOLD STAR review.

Full disclosure: eARC received from Netgalley 

The Fifth Wave

The Fifth Wave
by Rick Yancey

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. (Description from Amazon.com)

An excellent read. This book feels real. Cassie has to deal with being alone, trying to decide if anyone can be trusted. When she realizes thatanyone could be one of them... how can she trust anyone ever again? Then Cassie meets someone that she desperately wants to trust...

Her devotion to finding and saving her brother is admirable and heartbreaking. Seeing in the alternating chapters what is happening inside the camp he's been taken to... I found myself wanting to yell through the book to the characters letting them know what was going on with each other. Though I could see where things were going most of the time, Yancey's writing still kept me on the edge of my seat.

For older readers looking for a thrilling, can't put it down type of science fiction read.

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my Library

Iggy Loomis - Superkid in Training

Iggy Loomis - Superkid in Training 
by Jennifer Allison

For fans of Captain Underpants, here comes Iggy Loomis -- already a huge pain in his older brother Daniel’s you-know-what. But when a science experiment gone wrong makes Iggy’s DNA mutate, Iggy gets cool super powers! Is Iggy going to turn into an alien? Daniel needs to stop Iggy right now—before EVERYONE gets in trouble! With aliens, gadgets, space travel, superpowers, spies, and Jennifer Allison’s humor, this story is an out-of-this-world blast! (description from Amazon.com)

Okay, you all should know that I'm a HUGE fan of the Gilda Joyce series.  I love Gilda! So, when Jennifer's assistant, Sophie, contacted me to ask if I wanted to check out her newest book, IGGY LOOMIS - SUPERKID IN TRAINING, I was delighted to say yes! (Thank you, Sophie!)

This book was fun and exciting for younger readers.  It has great and realistic family relationships.  Daniel is your average kid dealing with a younger brother and sister that happen to be twins! Iggy is a whirlwind of a kid...leaving trails of destroyed toys in his wake, and while Daniel loves him, there's also NO WAY that Daniel wants to share a room with him.  But... to see the way that Daniel protects Iggy, Iggy protects Daniel, the way that Iggy protects his twin sister... and the way that their parents love them all, what a great message for kids!  

Aside from having a crazy family, Daniel meets a cool, but strange boy from next door named Alistair. When he discovers Alistair's secret (he's really an alien, shhh...don't tell!) things start to get truly WILD. I died laughing as Daniel, and us readers, learned that Alistair's people were here to find the perfect conditions to grow new strains of broccoli, the only food his people eat.  All the technologies that Alistair uses, however, to test conditions and species end up becoming problematic for Daniel... especially when Iggy ends up mutating his own DNA with insect species' DNA by accident... 

I really enjoyed both the story of this book and the illustrations by Mike Moran.  I thought this would be a perfect book to give to any 3rd or 4th grader.  It has aliens, science, toys, and interesting friend and family relationships that just about any kid could relate to easily.  I'm happily going to be ordering this book for our library's collection! 

Full disclosure: Review copy provided by author

Ender's Game Movie Blog!

So, I don't know if I've ever mentioned it before, but... Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is my ALL.TIME.FAVORITE.SCIENCE.FICTION.BOOK....EVAH!!

I LOVE Ender's Game. It is an amazing book with great characters and a cool concept.

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers, Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If the world survives, that is.

If you've never read it, I HIGHLY recommend you give it a shot. You don't like Sci-Fi, you say... I will prove you wrong. Try this book. It will change your life.

So. Why am I gushing at you like this??

Well...they are currently filming the Ender's Game MOVIE!! *squee!!*

They've lined up an awesome cast and they've even created a really cool blog that lets you see stuff from the movie sets. 

 

Check it out sometime if you get a chance! Let me know if you think they're going to do a good job with the movie...

172 Hours on the Moon

172 Hours on the Moon
by Johan Harstad

It's been decades since anyone set foot on the moon. Now three ordinary teenagers, the winners of NASA's unprecedented, worldwide lottery, are about to become the first young people in space--and change their lives forever.

 

Mia, from Norway, hopes this will be her punk band's ticket to fame and fortune.

Midori believes it's her way out of her restrained life in Japan.

Antoine, from France, just wants to get as far away from his ex-girlfriend as possible.

It's the opportunity of a lifetime, but little do the teenagers know that something sinister is waiting for them on the desolate surface of the moon. And in the black vacuum of space... no one is coming to save them. (description from Amazon.com)

 

I was very impressed with this science fiction thriller.

 

Though it is a little slow starting, the tension eventually builds into a spine-chilling ending.  This is the book for someone who doesn't need a happy ending.  This is the book for someone looking for realism and just a touch of horror.

 

This book has many characters and changes perspectives quite frequently, though you could say that Mia could be considered the "main character."  It actually makes it a little easier as the story goes on to be not quite invested in any specific character...

 

Whatever your suspicions may be along the way, the author manages to surprise readers with a bleak ending that will give you just the hint of nightmares for a few days...

 

Full disclosure: ARC received from Little, Brown books for Young Readers; Audio book received to review for AudioFile

Finally! A Trailer for "The Host"...

I am beyond excited to finally be able to share the teaser trailer for the movie adaptation of one of my favorite books, Stephanie Meyer's The Host. It's a fantastic reimagining of the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney.  I *cannot* wait until this movie comes out... in March 2012 (such a long time to wait!!)

Laddertop: Volume 1

Laddertop: Volume 1
by Orson Scott Card, Emily Janice Card, and Zina Card
illustrated by Honoel A. Ibardolaza


Twenty-five years ago, the alien Givers came to Earth. They gave the human race the greatest technology ever seen— four giant towers known as Ladders that rise 36,000 miles into space and culminate in space stations that power the entire planet. Then, for reasons unknown, the Givers disappeared. Due to the unique alien construction of the Laddertop space stations, only a skilled crew of children can perform the maintenance necessary to keep the stations up and running.

Back on Earth, competition is fierce to enter Laddertop Academy. It is an honor few students will achieve. Robbi and Azure, two eleven-year-old girls who are the best of friends, are candidates for the Academy. They will become entangled in a dangerous mystery that may help them solve the riddle of the Givers...if it doesn’t destroy the Earth first! (description from Amazon.com)

As you may or may not know, I'm not a huge manga/graphic novel reader. I've really been trying to broaden my horizons though, because I feel it's an important aspect of my job, and when I heard that Orson Scott Card had created a manga series I knew I needed to check it out.

Orson Scott Card, and his daughters who collaborated with him on this project, did another great job creating a riveting science fiction story with great children characters. I love the idea that aliens would have left technology for us that we could not quite understand. I love the idea of brave kids going up into space. I loved that in this volume, we got to see the training and selection process, but I really, really can't wait to see them get their "monkeys" and begin their actual work on the ladders.

I loved that the illustrator created characters that were easy to identify. They each had their own unique style. I only got confused once about whether a character was a girl or a boy. I also found the action/panels to be really easy to follow in this series. I think that even non-pro manga readers would have an easy time with this one.

As a science fiction fan, I think I've found a new, exciting manga series to follow!!

Full disclosure: Review copy received from Tor

Alienation

Alienation
by Jon Lewis
C.H.A.O.S., book two
Publication date: Jan. 3, 2012

After his parents were killed in a car accident, Colt McAllister was drawn into a world he thought only existed in comic books-one where mind control, jet packs, and flying motorcycles don't even scratch the surface.

Along with his best friends Oz and Danielle, Colt is now training at the secret Central Headquarters Against the Occult and Supernatural academy. But strange accidents seem to follow him. . . even with the security of the school grounds. What first seems random soon turns deadly. But who is targeting Colt?

As the alien invasions increase in frequency and force, C.H.A.O.S resources are taxed to the limit and they're forced to utilize the new recruits. In the midst of battle, Colt will discover some startling revelations . . . about himself, his friendship with Oz, and why he has been chosen to defeat this alien attack against earth. (description from Amazon.com)

This book read just like a good science fiction movie. Lewis writes in short chapters and though it is science fiction, it's not SO out there technology-wise that you have to get used to it. There are aliens, there are robots, and there is a cool military training academy. There are car chases, there are explosions, and there are simulation training programs.

There are best friends, supportive family members, and there is attempted murder. This book is exciting, fun, and has some great relationships in it. Which is good for Colt, considering someone is most certainly trying to take him out! His friends are there to support him, his new classmates respect him, and he has both family and other responsible adults in his life to keep his as safe as possible.

When Colt finds out why he has some amazing reflexes, why the aliens really want him, it's crucial that he keeps these relationships going... I'm very excited to see what happens in the next book, now that his secret is "out" within his circle...now that he knows his destiny.

Full disclosure: ARC received to review for VOYA

If You Like: Space Edition

"If You Like…” is a feature highlighting blogger recommendations for books, authors, TV shows, movies, and music based on the things you already know and love.

This week is for astronomy geeks...lol! If you love space adventures, aliens, and more, check it out here! (PS - I also added something I forgot in the comments...my fave TV show - duh! - Torchwood)

Movie Review - I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four
based on the book I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. Book one in The Lorien Chronicles.

I saw this movie yesterday with my Mom and it was great. I have to admit that I haven't read the book. Honestly, after seeing the previews for the movie and reading a bunch of reviews for the book I decided I'd rather just see the movie and skip the book for now. It was written to become a movie...I'm not too sure that I'm missing anything by skipping the book. I'll probably go back and read it someday, but for now...the movie was enough.

The movie is action packed, has cool special effects, aliens that are just the right amount of CGI, etc., and romance. Loved it! It was really cool to see Diana Agron from Glee in it, too! For a fun movie...just fun...check this one out!

A Wizard of Mars

A Wizard of Mars
by Diane Duane
Young Wizards series, book nine

Kit and Nita become part of an elite team investigating the mysterious "message in a bottle," which holds the first clues to the secrets of the long-lost inhabitants of Mars. But not even wizardry can help them cope with the strange events that unfold when the "bottle" is uncorked and a life form from another era emerges.

Though the Martians seem friendly, they have a plan that could change the shape of more than one world. As the shadow of interplanetary war stretches over both worlds, Kit and Nita must fight to master the strange and ancient synergy binding them to Mars and its last inhabitants. If they don't succeed, the history that left Mars lifeless will repeat itself on Earth.

It's been awhile since I read the last book in this series, but having to wait for book nine was worth it. This is a great science-fiction based magic series. Rather than fairy dust or wand waving magic, the young wizards here have to memorize long spells in the Speech, a universal language, coax machines to do what they want and keep their magical knowledge in manuals that function more like handheld PDAs.

Kit and Nita both became wizards when they were very young. The most powerful wizards start out at about eleven. Now, older and more experienced, they have been working as partners for years...and each tries not to think of the other as anything else as their best friend. When Mars threatens to split them up, they must band together to save themselves, their friends, their world, and if possible the potential Martians.

Full of funny Martian movie references and typical teenage angst, this book also delves much deeper into themes of friendship, love, morality, strength, and loyalty. An excellent addition to the series that brings Kit and Nita to the breaking point...

Full disclosure: Received audiobook to review for Audiofile Magazine