Book Review: I Am The Messenger

I Am The Messenger
by: Markus Zusak

After reading The Book Thief I was interested in Zusak's other works. This book is a lot lighter than The Book Thief, but still carries a good message.

Ed Kennedy is a cabdriver who stops a bank robbery and soon after receives his first ace in the mail. This is a start of an adventure for Ed. But who is behind this mission???

I thought that this book had a great concept and plot. The plot was very unique and I don't think there is a book out there quite like it. Also, the characters are very developed and not one dimensional. When first starting this book I was worried that the characters would all be flat, but as you get farther along the plot the characters really take form.

I really enjoyed this book, but the ending was sort of a bummer. I think the ending goes by too fast and at first I was confused about what just happened. I think he could have created a better ending and one that is more detailed because, again, I was confused.

Overall the characters were unique and the message/theme at the end was very nice.

Overall rating:

9.0/10

Book Review: The Book Thief

The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak

I heard a lot about this book before I actually read it and a couple of years ago I was going to pick it up, but  I didn't think that I was ready to read it. I am glad that I read it now since I am older and can fully appreciate it more. This book was absolutely amazing! It was better than amazing. Definitly one of the best books that I have read this year.

Narrated by Death, it is a story about Liesel Meminger, a girl that is taken in by foster parents, who is illiterate and cannot read. The setting is in Nazi Germany during World War II.

This book had some amazing characters. You see Death in a different life. Death has feelings and is not out to get everyone. Liesel is a wonderful main character who grows tremendously throughout the book. Rudy, her best friend, made me laugh! You don't see many books that have the relationship that Liesel and Rudy have. Mama and Papa were total opposites in personalites, but they complimented each other very well. Even minor characters had a big role in the book.

One of the major points in this book is not only about books and Liesel interaction with them but the war. The discrimination against Jews and the concentration of them was a major role in the book. The Holocaust scares the heck out of me, but reading about it in the book just made me want to sob. There are a few scenes when there are Jewish people walking to the concentraion camp and all the people on the street are watching them. It was just heart- breaking. It still amazes me that how people in Germany knew about what was happening to Jewish people, but the world didn't find out until after the war. I do not know how the word didn't get out.

This book did make me laugh at times, but it is a very emotional book. The ending especially.

Also, the writing was absolutely beautiful. One of the best written books I have ever read. The way Zusak uses words and creates the story is beautiful.

Overall, I cried. The writing was phenomonal, the story was great, and the book really was life changing. The ending will make you cry. :(

Overall rating:

9.8/10

*For mature readers. Contains swearing and is emotionally heavy

Book Review: The Ask and the Answer (does contain slight spoilars)

The Ask and the Answer
By Patrick Ness
Chaos Walking #2

The Ask and the Answer is the second book in the Chaos Walking trilogy. It starts right where The Knife of Never Letting Go ended. New Prentisstown...

This book was a great sequel! I think it was even better than the first book! At first I wasn't sure how I was going to like seeing both Viola and Todd's perspectives, but surprisingly enough I really enjoyed it! Both Todd and Viola developed immensely as characters. Viola is a very strong and stubborn character, and Todd still has a soul while other men around him don't. I loved, loved, loved Davy. You really only thought Davy was an awful guy who shot Viola and is Mayor Prentiss' son. He really does have feeling though. I loved how he actually became very loyal and a friend to Todd. I was crying in his last scene, it was so sad, but explained so much about Davy that we didn't know about. It was, in a weird way, a beautiful scene. Now moving on to the bad character, Mayor (or should I say President) Prentiss. You learn his ways of order, manipulation, and cruelty. He really knew how to get people to do the things he wanted done.

I liked that in this book the women are empowered. Mistress Coyle is a very interesting lady. I think there is a lot more to her and hopefully we readers get a better look at her in Monsters of Men.

In this book you learn a lot more about The Noise and Spackle. The Spackle are very interesting characters.

The ending is, of course, a cliff hanger! I need to read the last book now!!!!!

Overall, I COULD NOT put the book down! It was written very well and is a terrific read. There were a lot of oh-my-gosh-what-just-happened moments!

Overall Rating

9.7/10

*Readers 13 and up

Contains swearing and scenes of cruelty

Book Review: City of Fallen Angels

City of Fallen Angels
By Cassandra Clare
The Mortal Instruments 4

Now that the Mortal War is over everyone should be feeling pretty calm. But that is not the case! Someone has been murdering Shadowhunters, Jace is getting really bad dreams that don't seem right, Clary is training to become a Shadowhunter, and Simon has been receiving even more attention and it is not just because he is a Daylighter.

Simon really grew on me in this book and I really enjoyed him as a character. I hope Clary can get an awesome action scene in a future book since she is training to learn to become a Shadowhunter. Also, I would highly recommend that you read Clockwork Angel before reading this book. Many characters from Clockwork Angel are mentioned and appear in City of Fallen Angels. One (kinda) new character that I loved was Jordan. I can't wait to see him in future books.

I know that this book has been getting mixed reviews but I enjoyed it a lot. Simon grew more as a character and you learn his personal struggles. I kinda wish there was more appearances of Jace but under the circumstances that Jace was in I understand why.

Of course the ending was a cliffhanger! Now this is slightly spoilary but- why does everything bad have to happen to Jace?? Why? I mean at the ending I was like "Nooooo!"

Can't wait for the next book, but I don't want to wait that long!

Overall Review
9.3/ 10

Book Review: A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities
By: Charles Dickens

Usually I love reading literature in class, but when I heard that we were reading Charles Dickens I groaned a little. I should not have stereotyped Dickens though. I thought that his book was going to be boring but I was wrong. I enjoyed this book very much!

This book takes place in England and France before and at the start of the French Revolution. You meet Mr. Jarvis Lorry and Jerry Cruncher at the beginning of the book. At first it was very confusing for me to understand, but with the help of my english teacher and classmates I was right on track. Getting through the book was much easier with people to help you understand. I think reading it the second time will be much better and easier than reading it for the first time.

One thing that I loved a lot about this book was detailing. You really have to read carefully to get all of the little details and clues because Dickens uses descriptions without mentioning who the character is. I love how the little details come into play. Also there is,in a way, a lot of mystery. You have to put the clues together to understand the novel. I loved that everything was tied together in the end. Speaking of the end, the end was one of the best endings that I have ever read! It was really awesome!

The attention to detail is great in this book and there are a lot if metaphors. I love how there are layers. You can really dig deep and get into the plot. Sometimes you have to "pick apart layers(of the plot)" to understand why or what the actions were done for. I think reading this book a second time will help me find more clues and details that I did not notice before.

Very awesome book!

Overall Rating

9.3/10

Book Review: Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Angel
The Infernal Devices #1
by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel is the first book in the prequel series to The Mortal Instruments series. It takes place in Victorian London in 1878. Tessa Gray is the main character who learns that she has a very rare ability and is a Downworlder. The book's main focus is on the Downworlders. There is a lot of new information about Downworlders and since the book is a prequel there are many characters that we know and places. The Pandemonium Club is not just a club in New York City! It was interesting to learn more about London and have the plot be set in the Victorian era. I did like most if the new characters. Tessa is a strong female character and does take a prominent role. Jem and Will are, well, interesting to learn about. They are almost complete opposites of one another, but are best friends. Jem is so sweet and caring, and I love his character! Now Will on the other hand... I do like Will, but I want to know what has happened to him. He is a private person, but just tries to cover everything up. I really want to know and find out more about him!

What makes this book a lot different from TMI is the focus on Downworlders and the mystery. For a lot of the book it was, in a way, a mystery. At the end my mouth was hanging wide open! I want to know more! Since this is the first book there are many questions that I still have, but I will just have to wait for the next one to come out!

On a side note there were mentions of different pieces of literature which I enjoyed! I understood the A Tale of Two Cities quotes and characters that they were talking about. I was happy about that. There is also talk about opium in this book. I actually learned all about opium in school this past year so that made sense!

Overall I didn't think that it was as good as City of Bones, but I still enjoyed it! I think it will be a very good preqel series.

Overall Rating
9.1/10

What is K Factor?

I thought that I probably should say what K Factor is since it is part of my blog name! K Factor is a nickname that is mostly related with tennis. I have a Wilson tennis racquet and the series is called K Factor so it became my "tennis" nickname. It also fits well, in a way, with my last name which begins with a K. So this was just a fun and random fact.

Book Review: City of Glass

City of Glass
The Mortal Instruments Book 3
By Cassandra Clare

City of Glass was great! It kept me reading and wanting to know more. There are a lot of details in this book and you have a lot of Aha! Moments when reading. This book is definitly as good as the first two, maybe even better! I loved that you finally got to discover Idris and what it is like. It was nice having a change from New York City. Also, there are some great new characters! You meet Sebastian who is very interesting! Alec also steps up to the plate and really comes to embrace who he is. I like Simon a lot in this book! He really has become a very supportive best friend of Clary! There are many secrets revealed and everything starts to fit together. You learn a lot more about Clary's mother, Jocelyn.

The only problem that I had with the Mortal Instrmemts series in general was Valentine. He never seemed to be a really scary villain, at least to me. Valentine never had that presence of bone chilling fear like, for example, Voldemort from the Harry Potter series.

I definitely think that City of Glass could have been the last book in the series. It has a satisfying ending, but I am excited to read City of Fallen Angels.

Overall
9.5/ 10

Book Review: The Iron Queen

The Iron Queen
By Julie Kagawa

WOW! I just finished this book a few hours ago and that's what I have to say. I have so many emotions about this book so I have to let it all out!

The story takes off with Ash and Meghan exiled to the mortal world, but they aren't there for too long. I did like how the old characters grew and you meet some new characters which I enjoyed. I really liked Razor because you usually don't interact with the "bad" creatures. Meghan has really grown from The Iron King. Now she is a strong, independent woman who can fight. (so cute that Ash taught her) Also you really see a different side of Ash that I enjoyed a lot. The Winter prince isn't so icy after all! For the most part I liked Puck, but in the begining he was really childish which I guess is him in some ways. I loved that at the end he accepted, for the most part,being Meghan's best friend. I love the Puck that is always there for Meghan and supports her.

The romance between Ash and Meghan is better than ever. You can definitely tell Ash's love for her and it is not cheesy. I think their interaction is one of the best that I have ever read.

The ending killed me though! I understand Meghan's decision and I agree with it but Ash and Meghan have to find a way to be together in the end! I am very excited for The Iron Knight to come out. It will be interesting to see how Puck and Ash interact with one another.

On a side note, I really do like Ash's True Name!

Overall I was very pleased with the book!
9.7 / 10
*On a side note, I love the covers for all of the Iron Fey books. This one is my favorite!

Book Review: The Iron Daughter

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
Book#2 in The Iron Fey series

The book starts off right when Winter's Passage ends. Meghan is in the Winter Court because she made a deal with Ash in The Iron King. Overall this is a wonderful book to read.You meet new characters like Charles, Leanansidhe, and Ash's brothers. I was happy that the characters from The Iron King grew more as people and played bigger roles in this book. Also, Julie Kagawa did a great job expanding the faery world. You learn about new places and the descriptions are great! Throughout the book I could really picture what the places were like. The romance in this book gets better too. Now Puck comes into the picture more and Meghan is confused about who she really loves. There is action in the book which was good and the ending makes you want to read the next book. The Iron Daughter is definitely better than The Iron King.

Rating
9.4/ 10