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katie b

katie b

I am a huge reader and I am not a picky reader. I will read pretty much anything anyone recommends to me and I am not afraid to speak out about the books I love or the books I hate. I also review young adult books on my blog at katiesbookblog-katie.blogspot.com If you want to check it out and follow me, that's great. If not, that's fine too.... more »
  • Littleton, CO, USA
  • member since January 26 2009

Reviews

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Displaying 1-10 of 25 reviews
  • The Devouring
    • Rated 5 stars

    “The Devouring was my first scary book. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but I don’t recommend reading this when you are alone at night. You might get a little spooked! =]

    Reggie’s whole life begins to change when she finds an old book called The Devouring in the bookstore where she works. She and her best friend Aaron are huge horror fans so she figures there won’t be any harm in borrowing it. When strange things start happening to her little brother, Henry, Reggie begins to believe The Devouring might be more than fiction and the only way to save her brother is to dig deeper into the history of the Vours.

    When I first started The Devouring I didn’t see anything really scary about it. I read about 50 pages in and I still couldn’t really get into the story. I just had to make myself keep reading and I finally got to the good stuff. And boy was I wrong about the book. It may not have been creepy to begin with but it was once I really started reading.

    The characters weren’t that well-developed but it didn’t detract from the story. You could tell that Reggie really loved her little brother and that she would do anything for him. You could also tell that their dad wasn’t really all there, ever since their mom left them. My one really big question was about the family history. There wasn’t really info about when or why their mom left. I would’ve liked to know more about that.

    Overall, I really did love The Devouring. And while I say that it’s scary, don’t let it stop you from giving it a try. I think it was just the right amount of horror, friendship, and love. When everything is together, in the end, it just balances. ”

    katie b wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Girl in the Arena
    • Rated 4 stars

    “Girl in the Arena was quite an unusual book. It was unlike anything I have read before, but not always in a good way. In the end, I liked the book but as I was reading it, I wasn’t so sure. It didn’t really get good until really near the end and I know that might make a lot of people give up on it without even finishing it.

    First off, the writing style is very odd. It took me a while to figure out what I didn’t like about it but I finally realized that it seemed choppy. Chapters ended in the middle of conversations, dialogue wasn’t in quotes, and things just seemed to switch a lot without any warning. It didn’t make the book bad but it did take me a while to get used to the style and it was mainly just annoying.

    Also, the summary is so misleading. I went into the book expecting something similar to The Hunger Games with battles and gore and while we did get that, it was very minor. The main battles were at the very beginning and the very end. Oh and it also made me think that Lyn would be spending most of the book in battles with her dad’s killer, Uber. In actuality she was only in battle for about three or four pages of the book. I guess I just really wanted more from it.

    Another thing I didn’t really like was the ending because I felt that there could have been more to it and it was just so open. I am actually hoping that there might be a sequel just so I can really find out what happens to Lyn and her family. It seemed like there was so much unfinished business between Lynn and Uber.

    Overall, Girl in the Arena was just okay. I think there could have been so much more to it and I really do hope that there might be more in the works. I guess this is one I would recommend checking out from your library before buying.
    ”

    katie b wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Sky Always Hears Me: And the Hills Don?t Mind
    • Rated 5 stars

    “The first review I read about The Sky Always Hears Me: And The Hills don't mind made it shoot right to the top of my wishlist. When Id finally got a copy, I couldn't wait to read it. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint me in any way.


    Morgan lives in a town in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do except work, write crazy fortunes, and stare at Rob's butt. Well okay maybe more than that but those are Morgan's favorite things. And from descriptions of Rob, I wouldn't mind staring at his butt either. =]


    The only big flaw in Morgan's plan is that she already has a boyfriend. Not a very smart boyfriend but still a boyfriend. Then add to that a cute boy, a kiss with a girl, and things really start to heat up in that tiny little town. Oh, and on top of all that she wants to write a great American novel and that can't happen where she lives, so what is she to do but find a way to get out?


    I really did like Morgan. There were times I didn't agree with her thinking, when she was being stubborn and selfish, but it didn't make me dislike her. Morgan was just a good character all around. She was normal and relatable and quite funny. She had relationship, friendship, and family problems but she didn't let it get her down and ruin her dreams. In fact, it made her stronger.


    Also, one of the best things about this book was how Kirstin Cronn-Mills incorporated so many issues that are very present in today's society but she didn't overdo it. There was homosexuality, bullying, sex, prejudices, and so much more. Normally it would seem a bit much for one book but somehow it wasn't. It was honest and real and just perfect.

    Overall, I think The Sky Always Hears Me: And The Hills Don't Mind is something everyone will enjoy. It involves so many things relevant to today's teens and it portrays them all in a very enjoyable way. My warning to anyone who reads this is: don't read in a public place. You will find yourself getting some very odd looks when you start laughing out loud. So I definitely think you should add this one to your to be read list because if you give it a chance, I am sure you will like it. =]
    ”

    katie b wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • DupliKate
    • Rated 5 stars

    “Well what can I say about Duplikate? It's hard to find words to describe such a great book. It was so funny but more than that, it was real. Having just recently graduated from high school I could really picture everything Kate was going through and totally relate to it.


    Kate's social life is pretty much nonexistent with applications and extracurricular activities. She almost never gets to see her boyfriend or her friend. Add to that a huge science project for her final with a slacker for a partner and things become too much to handle. Then Rina shows up.


    I guess one of the things I liked so much about Duplikate was that it wasn't very predictable. I hate books where you know exactly what is going to happen as soon as you open the book. It takes all the fun out of reading a book.

    Overall, I really liked Duplikate and it's a good book for people of any age group. If you have graduated from high school of are in high school you will really know what Kate has to go through and realize that you are not alone. =]
    ”

    katie b wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Soulstice

    Soulstice

    by Simon Holt
    • Rated 5 stars

    “SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t read the first book in the series there will be spoilers.

    The first thing I want to say about this is that it is probably my new favorite series! I loved both this and the first one. They were both the perfect mixes of scary, funny, and cute. I definitely never really thought that I would like the books when I started but I was so wrong.

    Soulstice begins six months after the ending of The Devouring and I really got into it from the very first page. Reggie’s visions from the Vours are getting worse but she doesn’t know who the Vour is. She knows Quinn is gone but she also knows that there are more Vours in her small town and they continue to torment her, her brother, and her friend. And things seem to be getting more intense for all of them and Henry is finally getting his memories back. And Reggie gets an unexpected visit in the middle of the night that I really did not see coming. The book really took off from there.

    The one thing that tore me up about this book was how sad I felt for Henry. He was only eight and he had no clue what had happened to him or why he wanted to hurt people that were mean to him. He thought he was the monster when it was just the Vour inside him. I felt so bad for him. He was too cute. =]

    Oh and I will warn you that the end is a total cliffhanger. I never expected it and there were so many other things that I couldn’t have predicted would happen in the book. It was just so great! But yeah if you don’t like waiting you might want to hold off on reading this one until we know when the next book will be released.

    Overall, I think you can tell what I think about this series. Check it out because it is purely awesome and like I said, right in time for Halloween! ”

    katie b wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Once Was Lost
    • Rated 5 stars

    “Once Was Lost was my first ever book by Sara Zarr. I know I am very behind most bloggers and I plan to remedy that as soon as possible. If her other books are anything like this one, I know I will love them.

    When I first started reading Once Was Lost, I wasn’t sure I would even be able to finish it. I really don’t like books about religion. It’s not really the topic that turns me off, it’s the writing. Most religious books are preachy and I can’t stand that. I read to get away from being told what to do. Luckily, Once Was Lost wasn’t like any other book about religion that I have read. It wasn’t preachy at all and all the religious matter had to do with the storyline. It didn’t detract from the book at all.

    Also, this was not your typical religious family. Samara’s dad was the pastor at one of the many churches in their tiny town. Everyone knew him and his family, but nobody really knew what that family was like. Eventually Samara realizes that not even she knows what her family is truly like because they are forced to lie and pretend to be perfect, when they are anything but. Once Was Lost is Samara’s journey to find that truth with the help of some new friends and some old ones.

    Overall, I think this is one of the best books I have read recently. The storyline was really captivating and I just wanted to keep reading. I think if you give this book a shot, you won’t want to put it down either! ”

    katie b wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Espressologist
    • Rated 4 stars

    “The Espressologist was such a cute book with such a unique storyline. I never would have thought to match people up based on their coffee drink of choice. It was actually a brilliant and plausible idea that really livened the book up and made it stand out among YA romances.


    Jane works at a coffee shop called Wired Joes. She's always bored so she analyzes the customers and writes down her thoughts in her notebook. When one of her friends is dumped by his girlfriend, she makes it her business to fix him up based on his drink. Surprisingly, it works and her idea for Espressology really takes off. And when her boss finds out, things get even crazier.


    It was actually pretty comical, all the things Jane did. She was really good at matching up other people but not so great at picking the right guy for herself, even when he was right in front of her. My only problem with the book was that it was kind of predictable. There were some surprising things that I never would have guessed but from the very first page, I knew who Jane was going to end up with and it kind of ruined the fun for me. I guess it's kind of hard to make it mysterious when it is a romance but at least this one had something new.

    Overall, I really did enjoy The Espressologist. It was a really quick and fun read. I would definitely recommend it if you love short, sweet romances. =]
    ”

    katie b wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Hannah (Daughters Of The Sea)
    • Rated 3 stars

    “For starters, this is definitely a middle grade book. I didn't know that when I received it but it was pretty obvious once I started reading it. It wasn't that a young adult wouldn't like it, it was more that it was just a really easy book for me to read and didn't have anything really explicit in it, unlike most YA books these days. =]

    Hannah was a likable enough character and she definitely gained my sympathy from her situation. The only problem was that she was super quiet and I felt that she might have been a better character if she had been a bit more outspoken. I know she was a servant so that kind of makes things different but she never even really talked to the other servants. She just kept everything to herself and I would have liked it if she maybe made friends with the other servants. I didn't really get a feel for her personality and I felt she was undeveloped as a main character.

    Also, her relationship with the painter was so weird, at least to me. It never really amounted to anything even though I really wanted it to. He seemed like he was maybe her friend, possibly more, but I just couldn't tell. He just kind of seemed to flirt with Hannah and then disappear. Oh and the book gave some hints about his past but nothing really concrete and nothing that was ever elaborated on.

    The plot of the book was pretty much non-existent or if there was a plot, I didn't get it. The book just bored me and there were so many things I didn't understand

    Overall, I didn't really like the book but I think it might appeal to some. It would be better for younger kids because I don't think they would question it nearly as much as I did. Also, this is the first in the trilogy so maybe some things will be explained later. Well I am hoping they will be explained later!
    ”

    katie b wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Wish You Were Dead
    • Rated 4 stars

    “Wish You Were Dead is one of the most unique stories I have read recently. It was also one of the creepiest. It definitely wasn’t in the same category of creepy as The Devouring but it was really scary in its own way and what is worse is that it was way more realistic. The stuff that happened in Wish You Were Dead could very well happen in real life and that was what made it so hard for me to read.

    From the summary you can tell that teenagers are being kidnapped based on the writings of an anonymous blogger. What you don’t find out from the summary is that there is a lot more going on in the book than just that. And you don’t really find out all the stuff until the very end when it’s revealed who the kidnapper is. It definitely wasn’t predictable and I never would have guessed. It was a real shocker for me. Probably for everyone else who reads the book too.

    The story is told from Madison’s point of view, at least most of the time. Sometimes it switched around to the other teens involved but not often. It also switched when one of the teens was being kidnapped. It was written from their point of view when it was happening. It made the book seem a lot scarier because you saw what they were going through and you saw how helpless they were to fight. It was horrible.

    The one thing that didn’t really make sense to me was Madison’s cyberstalker. It is revealed at the end who it is but I don’t get why it had to be part of the book. It didn’t really add anything to the story and it wasn’t really clear why the person was stalking her. It just confused me a little. It wasn’t needed and there was already enough going on in the book without that.

    Overall, Wish You Were Dead is one of those books I recommend reading when you aren’t home alone. It creeped me out but it was definitely in a good way. If you haven’t read any of Todd Strasser’s books this is a good one to start with. =]

    Oh and I just now found out that this is going to be a trilogy. I think this one could stand alone but now I can't wait for the next one!
    ”

    katie b wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Secret Society
    • Rated 4 stars

    “Secret Society is another one of those books that I have heard a lot of bad things about. Most of the reviews I read for it said it didn't live up to it's full potential. I do agree with them on that point but I still really liked the book.

    Secret Society is the first book in a new YA series by Tom Dolby. I don't know when the next book is going to be released but I can't wait because the end of this one really left me with quite a few unanswered questions. I guess that's not a bad way to get people to read the next book and I know I will be one of those people. =]

    One of the things I thought could've been improved upon were the characters. They were good characters but I didn't really figure out anything about their histories. The only families that were even in the book were Nick's and Patch's and we only really got glimpses of them. And I guess it was mentioned that Lauren's mom had an alcohol issue but that's pretty much it. I was really wondering why Phoebe and Lauren were chosen to be part of the Society. Maybe that will be one of the things cleared up in the next book.

    Also, I felt there were a lot of unneccesary things in the book. So much of it was irrelevant. The book could have been a lot shorter if there was less walking, thinking, and sleeping going on.

    Overall, I really did enjoy Secret Society and I recommend picking up a copy for yourself. I can't wait for the next book!
    ”

    katie b wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
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