Incarceron

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher is quite different than anything I've read before. A lot of what happens in the book is impossible and unexplained that it distracts me from the story but it's a great read anyway... let me explain.

Incarceron is a vast prison filled with cities, forests, seas and thousands of people (A world within a world). Prisoners are born and die in this prison and as decades have past, the idea of  world Outside of the prison becomes more myth than fact. This novel follows the adventure of one prisoner, Finn, as he tries to escape the prison. Why is he trying to escape? Because he not only believes there is an Outside but he believes he was BORN Outside!

The novel also follows the adventure of a girl named Claudia who lives Outside and whose father is the warden of Incarceron! She has always been fascinated with Incarceron, especially since her father won't tell her much about it.

Eventually Claudia and Finn discover twin Keys (similar to what's on the cover of this book) and find that they can communicate with each other with the Keys. Finn asks Claudia for her help in Escaping Incarceron and Claudia agrees. But, as she's doing so she discovers something incredible about Finn's past.

Pretty interesting concept, right? But the vastness of the prison is difficult to imagine and the technology Claudia has access to is so advanced that it messes with my ability to "believe" the story. The best way I can explain it is to compare it to Harry Potter. All the weird stuff that happens, you can chalk it up to magic, but in Incarceron, it's not explained if it's magic or machine -- very confusing.

Overall, this is a very adventurous novel that takes the reader to unexpected points and leaves us at a precipice of excitement which makes us itching for more! I cannot wait to get a hold of the sequel Sapphique!

Plus, there's a movie adaptation in the works!

Truth

Truth by Julia Karr was an okay sequel to XVI. A lot happened that I didn't expect and some things happened that I predicted.

The story picks up a few days or weeks after the first book ended, with Nina still sad about her friend Sandy dying, and her killing her step father, Ed, in defense. To make her situation worse, her grandfather gets arrested for being a Non-Con sympathizer, her grandmother suffers a heart attack and Nina and her sister get evicted from their apartment.

Some pretty predictable stuff happens like Nina and Sal getting into a fight, Nina meeting someone new and she becomes conflicted about her feelings.

Some not so predictable things also happen, but I won't spoil those.

Overall, it's a good read, a lot happens which keeps the story fast paced. What makes this series great is the message behind it; girls are just as strong as boys and don't have to conform to what society thinks they should be.

Once again, it ends with a cliff hanger, leaving the reader to anticipate the third installment! 

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Hold Me Closer, Necomancer by Lish McBride is a funny, action-packed, supernatural teen fiction novel and I loved it!

Before reading this book, I had no idea what  necromancy was but after reading it I feel like I could be an expert on the subject.

The story follows Samain LeCroix, a 20 something year old who dropped out of college and is working at a fast food restaurant with his friends Ramon, Brooke and Frank. His life seems pretty pathetic until he discovers that he actually has the power of necromancy!

Unfortunately, a very powerful necromancer, Douglas, wants to kill Sam and take his power away from him. Sam gets kidnapped, meets a werewolf-fairy hybrid, develops his powers and does some pretty amazing things!

What's cool about this book is that it moves from first person (when Sam is talking) to third person so the reader can understand what's going on beyond what Sam is aware of. It gives the book a movie-type feel that just gets your imagination going.

Also, each chapter of the book are lyrics from popular songs; Sweet Dreams are Made of These, Papa Was a Rolling Stone, Come Together, Right Now, Over Me. And the lyrics pretty much sum up what's going to happen in the chapter.

Apparently, a sequel is already in the works Necromancing The Stone but no release date or author confirmation has been made yet.

I really enjoyed this book so I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys action, suspense, supernatural beings, and a little humour.