Posted on

Book Review: Catching Fire

Catching Fire
By Suzanne Collins
Published by: Scholastic Press
ISBN13: 978-0-439-02349-8
ISBN10: 0-439-02349-1
Review copy purchased by reviewer

Reviewed By: Lauren Lapinski

Picking up almost one year after The Hunger Games, Catching Fire brings us right back into the life of Katniss Everdeen, who updates us on all that has happened since the end of the first book. We see how many things have changed for her since winning the Games and the perils she now faces. Containing less violence and fighting action than The Hunger Games, Book 2 picks up the slack with political intrigue as Katniss faces the consequences of her actions against The Capitol and President Snow.
Continue reading “Book Review: Catching Fire”

Posted on

Book review: The Hunger Games Review

The Hunger Games
Written by: Suzanne Collins
Published by: Scholastic Press
ISBN13: 978-0-439-02348-1
ISBN10: 0-439-02348-3

Reviewed By: Lauren Lapinski

With constant predictions of the human race and the world coming to an end in the year 2012, many of us fear what the near and distant future hold. Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games takes place sometime in the distant future in the ruins of North America, now known as Panem. In this dystopia future, an event is held each year known as the Hunger Games, where children from age 12 to 18 are selected by lottery to compete in a televised fight to the death with only one surviving victor. The heroine, Katniss Everdeen , enters the Hunger Games after her younger sister’s name is selected from the lottery and she volunteers to take her place.
Continue reading “Book review: The Hunger Games Review”

Posted on

Manga Review: Otomen

Otomen
Written by: Aya Kanno
Published by: Shojo Beat
Copy supplied by publisher
ISBN13: 978-1-4215-2186-2
ISBN10: 1-4215-2186-5

Reviewed by Lauren Lapinski

When we think of males and their hobbies, the first thing we usually think of is sports. From baseball to wrestling, if it’s a spectator sport, men will watch it. This is not the case, however, for Asuka Masamume of Otomen, a guy who loves all things girly, and who is forced to hide his passions to appear manly.
Continue reading “Manga Review: Otomen”

Posted on

Shojo Review: Gaba Kawa

Gaba Kawa
By Rie Takada
Published by: Shojo Beat Manga
ISBN13: 978-1-4215-2259-3
ISBN10: 1-4215-2259-4

Reviewed by Lauren Lapinski

When someone says “shojo manga”, the image that usually comes to mind is of high schools girls, pretty boys, and huge helpings of romance. Gaba Kawa is no exception to this rule, while adding a somewhat supernatural twist, another element becoming coming in the genre. The main character, Rara, is a demon who has come to the human world to wreak havoc, drag human souls down into the pits of darkness, and other lovely things like that. The last thing she’s supposed to do is fall in love with a human, which, anyone at all familiar with the shojo genre can guess, is exactly what happens. Continue reading “Shojo Review: Gaba Kawa”

Posted on

Book review: Halfway to the Grave

Halfway to the Grave
Written by: Jeaniene Frost
Published by Avon
ISBN: 978-0-06-124508-4

Review by Lauren Lapinski

During this year’s New York Comic Con, I was fortunate enough to listen to Jeaniene Frost, along with a few other authors, talking about writing novels and changes they had to make to their own stories so it might capture an agent’s attention. She doesn’t disappoint since the first chapter starting off with her main character, Catherine, caught in a situation many of us wouldn’t want to be in. The character’s voice through out the story is very well done and is pretty much consistent for the whole book. The actions scenes are well written out and you can tell by reading the book that the author clearly did her research.
Continue reading “Book review: Halfway to the Grave”

Posted on

Turn Coat Review

Turn Coat
Written by: Jim Butcher
Published by RoC
ISBN: 9780451462565

Reviewed by Lauren Lapinski

A wizard accused of a crime he claims not to have committed, a creature of myth and nightmare on the loose in Chicago, a traitor amongst the White Council of wizards, and only one man in the phone book who is willing to take it all on. Combine these elements together and you get Turn Coat. The eleventh book in The Dresden Files series, Jim Butcher once again delivers a story full of wit, hilarity, evil doer ass kicking, and plenty of spell casting to go around. From the first chapter all the way to the end of the novel, you are brought directly into the story, all the while trying to figure out who is the true traitor on the White Council.
Continue reading “Turn Coat Review”

Posted on

Fairway to Heaven Review

Fairway to Heaven
Written by J. David Barron
Published by A Ladder Press Publishing Book
ISBN: 097937653

Reviewed by Lauren Lapinski

Golf, just the thought of the word and one automatically thinks of players such as Tiger Woods or movies such as Happy Gilmore. It is a sport loved by many and lost on by just as many people in all parts of the world. Fairway to Heaven is a book that both explores a passion for golf and the faith one has in Christianity.
Continue reading “Fairway to Heaven Review”

Posted on

Book Review: Ghost Medicine

Ghost Medicine
Written by Andrew Smith
Published by Feiwel and Friends
ISBN10: 0312375573
ISBN13: 9780312375577

Reviewed by Lauren Lapinski

Ah, the coming-of-age story. It is a tale often told of dealing with situations of real life and how they help us grow up and become more mature while we are teenagers. Such is the case of “Ghost Medicine”. It is the story of a young boy dealing with the recent loss of his mother and how his life and mentality are forever affect by this event.
Continue reading “Book Review: Ghost Medicine”

Posted on

Book review: Who is Shayla Hacker?

Who is Shayla Hacker?
Written by Evan Kilgore
Published by Bleak House Books
ISBN: 9781932557306

Review by Lauren Lapinski

How far would you be willing to go to find someone you may or may not remember from your past? Would you be willing to go so far that the search turns into an obsession with law enforcement at almost every turn you make, accusing you of crimes you didn’t commit? This seems to be the case with the characters in Who is Shayla Hacker?; five different characters, five different points of view and one question plaguing them all throughout the story. The writing style itself flowed very well and made for an easy read, but some of the things the main characters did seemed somewhat unrealistic to the point where I wanted to smack a few of them upside the head and ask what the hell were they thinking.
Continue reading “Book review: Who is Shayla Hacker?”