I am a fan of Robison Wells ever since I finished reading his Variant book and still remained a fan even he disappointed me on the sequel of the Variant, Feedback. My copy of the Dead Zone is one of the books I got from this years Fullybooked Sale (I got a total of 17 books for 900 pesos only). I have read the first book of the series back in 2013 during my first visit in Cebu. If I can still recall it properly, the book Blackout by Wells is the first book that I bought from the Fullybooked Ayala Cebu branch. I have mixed reactions about Blackout (see review here), I somewhat loved it and the same time hate it. Maybe because I just expected too much from the author after he wowed me in his book Variant (see review here). But, overall Blackout was fun and that is why I am going to read this second book Dead Zone. I have seen this book on the shelves of the bookstores for years now, but since I did not really find the first installment spectacular, I refused to pick this one and prioritized the other options. Now, that this is on sale (50 pesos only from 380 pesos), I have no more reasons to not buy this one.
Showing posts with label BOOK REVIEW: BLACK OUT by DAN WELLS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BOOK REVIEW: BLACK OUT by DAN WELLS. Show all posts
Now Reading: Dead Zone by Robison Wells
I am a fan of Robison Wells ever since I finished reading his Variant book and still remained a fan even he disappointed me on the sequel of the Variant, Feedback. My copy of the Dead Zone is one of the books I got from this years Fullybooked Sale (I got a total of 17 books for 900 pesos only). I have read the first book of the series back in 2013 during my first visit in Cebu. If I can still recall it properly, the book Blackout by Wells is the first book that I bought from the Fullybooked Ayala Cebu branch. I have mixed reactions about Blackout (see review here), I somewhat loved it and the same time hate it. Maybe because I just expected too much from the author after he wowed me in his book Variant (see review here). But, overall Blackout was fun and that is why I am going to read this second book Dead Zone. I have seen this book on the shelves of the bookstores for years now, but since I did not really find the first installment spectacular, I refused to pick this one and prioritized the other options. Now, that this is on sale (50 pesos only from 380 pesos), I have no more reasons to not buy this one. Biri Island, Northern Samar
How to go there?
***Calbayog > Allen > Lavezares > Biri***
*Plane from Mactan-Cebu Airport to Calbayog Airport (1 hour)*
- Plane ticket prices vary. Take advantage of CebPac’s promo prices now (despite their crappy service), or PAL’s. CebPac’s flight usually arrive at noon, while PAL’s arrive early in the morning.
- (You can also take a Cebu – Catarman flight. I heard there’s a ride from Catarman straight to Lavezares.)
*Tricycle from Calbayog Airport to Calbayog Grand Tours Van Terminal (15 minutes)*
- Just look for a trike driver and ask him to drive you to Grand Tours. The airport is a bit far from the town proper, so he might ask you to pakyaw the ride for 120php. Try haggling for 100php for the entire ride, if you can. Normal rate per tricycle ride around the town proper is 10php per head. Local carenderia stalls abound the area too, if you are hungry).
- (If you plan to stay in Calbayog for a while, Marcial’s Grill has some tasty tender ribs and fried chicken. Buy pasalubong in Brgy. Matobato (just a hundred-meter walk from Marcial’s Grill) on your way home. Calbayog’s smoked fish is the bomb!)
- (If you have a few days to spare, check out Calbayog’s waterfalls, and the Pink Beach in Sila Island.)
***Calbayog > Allen > Lavezares > Biri***
*Plane from Mactan-Cebu Airport to Calbayog Airport (1 hour)*
- (You can also take a Cebu – Catarman flight. I heard there’s a ride from Catarman straight to Lavezares.)
*Tricycle from Calbayog Airport to Calbayog Grand Tours Van Terminal (15 minutes)*
- Just look for a trike driver and ask him to drive you to Grand Tours. The airport is a bit far from the town proper, so he might ask you to pakyaw the ride for 120php. Try haggling for 100php for the entire ride, if you can. Normal rate per tricycle ride around the town proper is 10php per head. Local carenderia stalls abound the area too, if you are hungry).
- (If you plan to stay in Calbayog for a while, Marcial’s Grill has some tasty tender ribs and fried chicken. Buy pasalubong in Brgy. Matobato (just a hundred-meter walk from Marcial’s Grill) on your way home. Calbayog’s smoked fish is the bomb!)
- (If you have a few days to spare, check out Calbayog’s waterfalls, and the Pink Beach in Sila Island.)
MUSIC FEATURE: 'Seafret' is Fresh and Bumping Souls
"Through the ruins, trying to save it ‘for I fall out, show me somehow I can make it, All that we gave, was it wasted? Falling down broke, only one hope that you make it"- Give Me Something by Seafret
NAME: SEAFRET
GENRE: INDIE
BEST SONG FOR ME: GIVE ME SOMETHING
BIO: The North East of England is a place shrouded in tradition, installing a powerful sense of who you are in its residents. Hailing from the small town of Bridlington, Jack Sedman (vocals) and Harry Draper (guitar) chose the name Seafret for their music. As well as being a pun on the guitar fret board, it’s also a local term; it applies to the rolling mists that come in off the North Sea during summer.
BOOK REVIEW: Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas
“You could rattle the stars," she whispered. "You could do anything, if only you dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That’s what scares you most.
SYNOPSIS: In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.
FEATURE: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
"The great thing about this life of ours is that you can be someone different to everybody."Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven
BOOK REVIEW: Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo
“I've been waiting for you a long time, Alina" He said. "You and I are going to change the world.” SYNOPSIS: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.
BOOK FEATURE: Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff
Voilà,” she says, and not like your aunt says it either, unless your aunt is a sophisticated French actress from the 1960s whose breath makes you feel faint—in a good way. I’m not so sure I care at all that she’s better than me, as long as she keeps saying things in French.”
BOOK FEATURE: Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo
“The problem with wanting," he whispered, his mouth trailing along my jaw until it hovered over my lips, "is that it makes us weak.”
BOOK FEATURE: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
“Sometimes, the wicked will tell us things just to confuse us–to haunt our thoughts long after we've faced them.”
BOOK FEATURE: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
“I bet you could sometimes find all the mysteries of the universe in someone's hand.”
BOOK REVIEW:The Young Elites by Marie Lu
“Be true to yourself. But that's something everyone says and no one means. No one wants you to be yourself. They want you to be the version of yourself that they like.”
BOOK FEATURE: Angelfall by Susan Ee
“I knew from the start that your loyalty would get you killed. I just
never thought it would be your loyalty to me that would do it.”
It's
been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the
modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule
the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl,
her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.
Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.
Raffe
is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of
fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a
desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.
Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.
Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.
BOOK REVIEW: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
“The only thing you have to do in this life is die," said Mrs. Pinsky..."everything else is a choice.”
SYNOPSIS: On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, 11-year-old Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life--the fissures in her parents’ marriage, the loss of old friends, the hopeful anguish of first love, the bizarre behavior of her grandfather who, convinced of a government conspiracy, spends his days obsessively cataloging his possessions. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues.
REVIEW: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker is a must read. It is a book that will teach readers lessons applicable to enhance the beauty of their souls.
The plot is not unique. If you've ever heard of Life As We Knew It, you will probably agree to me that this one and that book have things in common. Speaking of, btw as I've read In The After a month ago, I remember this book. I don't know. Yet without that perfect originality, the author still delivered a solid heart whelming, gripping unforgettable story I have ever read in my entire life.
BOOK REVIEW: Fallen by Lauren Kate
SYNOPSIS: What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours?17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross . . . only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good & evil forces plot to keep them apart.
REVIEW: I've read this book 5 years ago. I received a paperback copy of this during Christmas eve, it was given by my classmate as a gift.
Miss Lauren Kate delivered us another book to compete at the mainstream appeal of genres for Young Adult that time. If I can still remember, correct me if I am wrong, the time this book was released, Twilight is dominating. So I guess, miss Kate wants to make a bold move and yeah instead of vampires she delivered fallen angels.
Rating Standards for Book Reviews
In case you are wondering how I rate the book reviews posted in this blog, here is where I base my unbiased yet sometimes subjective judgement. Take note that number one serve as the lowest rating while ten is the highest.
BOOK REVIEW: GONE by MICHAEL GRANT
SYNOPSIS: In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young.There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as sud
denly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)