PODs by Michelle K. Pickett

Goodreads Blurb

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul. 
After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters. 
Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

PODs REALLY surprised me! I'm not quite sure why, but I just didn't expect much out of it. Maybe it was the "Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one" part, maybe it was because it sounded a bit typical. But PODs was actually a pretty wonderful read! It was entertaining and sweet and such a fun read!

The only things I didn't really like was how insta-lovey it seemed at first. They fell in love rather quickly, even though they both knew how falling in love in the PODs was a bad idea--but they barely resisted. Maybe this was because there were so many time skips. (More on that later) It was just so annoying to me. And the things they said! They sometimes made me cringe with the cheesiness. David said something along the lines of "I've wanted to do that since I first saw you" after they kissed. It was...hmm.

And to the writing. We actually start our story before the virus is announced, so it was weird. I honestly think it would've been better if we flashed back to the first 4 chapters. Somehow, though, Pickett managed to fit maybe 2 years into the story--which is pretty impressive! But it made the book a bit rocky because everything was rushed. Not to mention that there were so many time skips. We would go from day to day at first, then skip month by month, then to two months, then back to a day or something. 

There weren't many twists, but that wasn't to say the plot was kickass! It was. Just not as much as it could've been.

But ooooh it was still wonderful! Eva had so many adventures outside the "villages" (explained if you read the book" and I loved learning about her life in the PODs! It was, by far, my favorite part. Learning about our characters (though we have to say goodbye to some of them) was amazing and they each had such distinct personalities--though we didn't get to learn about some of our minor characters. Eva wasn't the easiest character to relate to but I loved her voice! She was such an adorable (headstrong) character!

But while each character had their own personality, we had to say goodbye to them too quickly. Eva meets and says goodbye to so many people, so it was a bit hard keeping straight who was who! 

This book actually reminded me a lot of End Games. It sometimes had that bleak feel to it that I loved and sometimes it seemed like such a fruitless race against time. PODs was definitely a great book that I recommend to apocalyptic fans! 

The ending was perfect, by the way.

Pages: 288

Genre: Post Apocalyptic/Sci-fi

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Release Date: June 4, 2013

Rating: 3.5 CAN'T DECIDE BETWEEN 3 and 4

September Girls by Bennett Madison

Goodreads Blurb

When Sam's dad whisks him and his brother off to a remote beach town for the summer, he's all for it-- at first. Sam soon realizes, though, that this place is anything but ordinary. Time seems to slow down around here, and everywhere he looks, there are beautiful blond girls. Girls who seem inexplicably drawn  to him. 
Then Sam meets DeeDee, one of the Girls, and she's different from the others. Just as he starts to fall for her, she pulls away, leaving him more confused than ever. He knows that if he's going to get her back, he'll have to uncover the secret of this beach and the girls who live here.

Oh, it's case of the deceiving cover again. I mean, the cover was absolutely gorgeous and the synopsis was definitely intriguing! But the actual story was, I found, very different from what I expected. 

So the first thing was the writing. It was a bit awkward sometimes and the cussing was...extreme. Every few sentences and almost every paragraph had a cuss word and it got super old super fast. The way it was written was also a bit awkward and while there was an air of mystery surrounding the story, it was also a bit obvious and a bit boring.

Also, *spoiler* the way to break the curse was also pretty messed up.

The plot also left a lot to be desired for. It didn't have any twists whatsoever and was actually pretty boring most of the time. It was nice to read, I guess. But what really disappointed me was that we never found out exactly what the girls were, and their parents...didn't make a whole lot of sense. We never went in depth with their situation, and since the book really sort of revolved around that, the story lacked. Also, very repetitive and there were a ton of things just suddenly popped out at you that made no sense whatsoever.

I was also a bit confused as to how DeeDee was really that different. The only reason she was "different" was because she'd rather read than party, but for all he knew, she was the only one he stumbled in on. It was coincidence after coincidence and it got super frustrating seeing DeeDee actually act like all the other Girls. 

Sam was also pretty shallow--and oh my gosh the number of times I wanted to punch him are innumerable. 

What I did like? The switching POVs. We got few glimpses into the supernatural world through this other POV which I can't reveal, and those were, by far, my favorite chapters. I did like Kristle though, despite her faults, and found her a strangely refreshing blunt kind of character, even if I did want to strangle her sometimes. (No, all the time)

Characters. Flat, obnoxious, disgusting, sex-crazed, etc.

The book sort of not really redeemed itself in the fact that it had a sort of impact on me and hit me as one of those raw kind of books. Maybe not beautiful, and maybe not gritty, but somewhere in-between. It's one of those books that you can sort of understand, not on a fictional level, but in the message the author was trying to send. But oh, it was so not worth the read. 

But, ermm, if I may offer a sort of snarky version of this review? (I restrained. I'm sorry. But)

Okay, I really wanted to punch all the characters so many times for being idiotic, drug addicts, and so demeaning, especially the guys. It made me want to throw a brick at something, preferably something glass. So the way it was written was sometime pretty, and it did give a raw message, but still. The characters? The plot? Eh. Also, hello? Can we please get some closure? I possibly hate this, and sort of like it because of the rawness. I think. My feelings are mixed. So mixed. But seriously. Lots of drinking, mostly sex, lots of objectifying, and a lot a lot a lot of anti-feminism/females-are-only-good-for-certain-ahem-things.

Pages: 256

Genre: Supernatural

Series: Stand alone

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: May 21, 2013

Rating: Uh. No.

Slated by Teri Terry

Goodreads Blurb

Kyla has been Slated—her memory and personality erased as punishment for committing a crime she can’t remember. The government has taught her how to walk and talk again, given her a new identity and a new family, and told her to be grateful for this second chance that she doesn’t deserve. It’s also her last chance—because they’ll be watching to make sure she plays by their rules.

As Kyla adjusts to her new life, she’s plagued by fear. Who is she, really? And if only criminals are slated, why are so many innocent people disappearing? Kyla is torn between the need to know more and her instinct for self-preservation. She knows a dangerous game is being played with her life, and she can’t let anyone see her make the wrong move . . . but who can she trust when everyone is a stranger?

I have to say, as much as I liked Slated, I was definitely a bit disappointed too. With all the great reviews out there, I feel like the black sheep in all honesty! But as much as I tried to love it, it just face-planted a few feet from my expectations.  

While I was instantly captured at first, I found that Slated was a bit too slow for me and I quickly lost interest. I enjoyed learning about this world, of course, but it was just...how do I explain. It dealt more along the lines of how Kyla adjusted to the world (and being different than different) rather than having a captivating action packed plot which is honestly what I'd expected. It was a bit boring seeing a girl adjust to school and while there were many moments of excitement, they were brief (about one or two pages). I felt like you could condense all the exciting parts of this book from a 300+ book to a barely 250 and still gain as much...thrill, I guess.

The romance was super cheesy and I didn't really like Ben, our love interest. He was somehow perfect, even if he didn't really have his own mind. He didn't seem to have any depth to him whatsoever and their relationship in general didn't seem to be well written. They run together, they're both Slated--so they both fall in love? I honestly couldn't believe it, no matter how much I was hoping I'd end up liking Ben.

 I did love how a reader could have absolutely no idea who to trust. One moment I'd think we could trust Amy, then I feel like she'd betray Kyla like that, then back to thinking we can trust her. Then the same to her "Mum", her "Dad", Ben, Aiden, Jazz, all of them. Who to trust, who to trust? If you could forget everything/die just for trusting the wrong person...well, that's a lot of pressure! I was nervous throughout most of the book, wondering who we could trust and who would betray Kyla in a second. 

Pages: 352

Genre: Dystopian

Series: Slated #1

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books

Release Date: January 24, 2013

Rating 2.5-->3 stars

Every Day by David Levithan

Goodreads Blurb

In his New York Times bestselling novel, David Levithan introduces readers to what Entertainment Weekly calls a "wise, wildly unique" love story about A, a teen who wakes up every morning in a different body, living a different life.

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl. 

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

With his new novel, David Levithan, bestselling co-author of Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A’s world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day.

I had so many high hopes for Every Day! Almost everyone was recommending it, and if they hadn't read it, it was definitely high on their TBR! So, suffice to say, I was ready to be positively blown away!

Sadly, Every Day fell a little (just a little!) flat for me. 

(Just throwing this in, I won't be talking characters much, considering...well there are a lot of characters.)

So writing. The writing was, in one word, gorgeous. The way that things are explained makes you think about all these things you never considered before? Seriously amazing. And you can tell at a glance how deep this book is. It's emotional in a way that can't be found in other books: when you don't who you are, who are you really? What makes you you? I doubt many people consider that, but Every Day asks you that exact question. And honestly, who really knows? 

I felt so bad for A. He jumped from life to life to life, every morning. He didn't have a say in anything. He didn't have a life of his own. No friends, no family, no mom or dad to love him. He's never had a connection of any kind, until Rhiannon. And it was just...sad. Never having a tomorrow to look forward to. Being aloof, acting out someone else's actions--never getting to be him/herself. 
And that was another thing. We never find out if A is female or male. And while that was kind of weird, I think most of us consider him as a guy since our love interest is a girl. And A just seemed...more masculine (From now on, though, I'm calling him/her it.) Which was why it was a bit weird when he was a girl. 

The world building, while great in the way that the way A explained his life, its thoughts as a kid and everything, I wanted to find out more about its parents, its...kind? Its power, why it could do what it could do. Apparently, Every Day is a stand alone, but it didn't fee like it. There were so many questions left unanswered and I just wanted them answered!

Now, what disturbed me was how how obsessed A seemed with Rhiannon. I mean, I get that it was in love...but people in love don't, I hope, do what it did. And always being with Rhiannon, despite its usual routine? A was violating the body of whoever A was in and I was more on Rhiannon's side about that. It (NOT THE PERSON NOW) wasn't right. 

So while the premise and writing were wonderful, there were a few disturbing things that were there and loose ends that should've been swept away. But Every Day was beautiful and stunning in other ways. The ending was touching and sad, making me want to rip my hair out. Every Day is one that will ask you questions that you can't answer, have no answer for, and you'll probably love it just because of that.

Pages: 336
Series: Stand alone
Genre: Fantasy(?)/Romance
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Rating: 3.5 stars. (Solidly 3.5. It wasn't higher than a 4, but higher than a 3.)