The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore Review

Title: The Power of Six (Lorien Legacies #2)

Author: Pittacus Lore, James Frey, Jobie Hughes

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Page Count: 406 pages

Publish Date: August 23, 2011

Book Type: Library Hardback

Publisher: HarperCollins

ISBN: 9780061974557

From Goodreads: I've seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he's a mystery. But to me . . . he's one of us.

Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We're hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we'll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I've been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?

They caught Number One in Malaysia.

Number Two in England.

And Number Three in Kenya.

They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed.

I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.

And I'm ready to fight.

My Review: Like I Am Number Four, this one has a pretty cool cover. Very sci-fi. However, it did throw me because I assumed this book would be mainly about Six. I guess I didn’t read the description. Hah. Good one.

I’ll start by saying that I actually enjoyed this a lot more than the first in the series. I didn’t not enjoy the first one... I was just middling on it. This one I was actually pleasantly pleased with. Some of the aspects in the first that were a bit confusing made much more sense in this one and I found that I remembered many more details than I thought I would. I loved how this one had a lot more action and mystery. 

I also loved how the characters were fleshed out more, while we were still introduced to some new ones. I really like Six and I’m glad she was heavily featured. Sam will always be one of my favorite characters. He’s human and basically amazing. Four is such a flawed character, which is nice to see in a main character. He makes some really dumb decisions, but they are decisions I can kind of understand. Four, Six, and Sam make a pretty amazing trio. I’m kind of glad Sarah wasn’t around. Her relationship with Four is kind of mediocre to me. 

The Power of Six is told in alternating points of view--John (Number Four) and Marina (Number Seven). The writing style was very effective for this book. Just when something major would happen, the points of view would shift so the reader is left wondering what is going on with the other character. It kept me reading late into the night!

Overall, this is a pretty action packed book. There are numerous battles, adventures, and even deaths. Now I’m looking forward to the next one!

P.S. Bernie Kosar is still awesome. :)

What do you think of this series?

Two Moons of Sera by Pavarti K Tyler Review and Tour

Title: Two Moons of Sera

Author: Pavarti K. Tyler

Genre: Young Adult/Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Size: 162 KB

Publish Date: October 11, 2011

Book Type: ARC provided for review

Publisher: Fighting Monkey Press

ISBN: 9780983876922

Picture from Amazon

From Goodreads: In a world where water and earth teem with life, Serafay is an anomaly. The result of genetic experiments on her mother's water-borne line Serafay will have to face the very people responsible to discover who she really is. But is she the only one? 

All the Fun of YA written for Adults 

Two Moons of Sera is a Fantasy/Romance and will be released in a serial format. The first volume is just shy of 20,000 words and will be priced at $0.99. Anyone who purchases it will receive all future volumes for free. However if you wait to get it until later, the price will go up with each addition.

My Review: The cover definitely fits the story--love that she’s underwater and I love the colors.

This is a short book, but Pavarti K. Tyler has decided to take the route of manga and comic books and distribute her story in sections. It’s actually pretty interesting. 

I love the Sera is a hybrid of the land-dwelling people and the water people. Like many teenagers, she isn’t quite sure where she fits in. She is also the result of cruel experiments. This aspect of the story kind of reminded me of The Hunted of 2060 (another fun, sci-fi book!).

Not too long into the story, Sera meets another person who is the result of experiments. It was nice to see Sera with someone who had similar qualities to her. She has been isolated with her mother for so long (her mother’s people abandoned her because of Sera being a hybrid) that she has been feeling a bit lonely.

I really enjoyed Tyler’s writing style. While reading, I could tell Tyler thoroughly enjoyed the world she created. The character building was strong, which could have been difficult with the novella. 

I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the next stage of the story!

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A note from the author:
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Gone by Michael Grant Review

Title: Gone (Gone #1)

Author: Michael Grant

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Sci-Fi, Fantasy

Page Count: 576 pages (575 KB)

Book Type: ebook (Kindle)

Publisher: HarperTeen

ISBN: 9780061448788

ASIN: B0029PBVKM

Picture from Amazon

From Goodreads: In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.

Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.

It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else...

My Review: The cover for this one is fine. I like the blue color scheme, but it looks as if the people on the cover are older than the almost 14-year olds they are supposed to represent. Perhaps my age calculator is off. They are pretty similar to how I pictured them, though. The tagline, “This is the way the world ends” is pretty interesting and ominous!

This is a long book, but it didn’t feel quite as long as it actually was, which is a good thing. I can’t imagine what I would do if suddenly everyone over the age of 14 disappeared and then people started to develop all kinds of crazy powers. Probably about 75% of people under 14 are not mature enough to handle this. Some of the children find ways to handle this unimaginable scenario they are thrown into and I have a few favorites. Lana had to survive all by herself when everyone went “poof” and I thought that her segments were some of the more interesting ones. Edilio seemed like an all around good guy and I really started to care for him. Edilio is faithful and genuinely nice. Sam and Astrid are also among my favorites. There are a lot of characters, but as a reader, you really do get to know the majority of them. 

Just like with Lord of the Flies, there are power struggles and fights throughout the book. Some people are forced into a power position while, on the other hand, some people want to forcefully take the power positions away from others. This book has a little bit of everything: science fiction, fantasy, romance, action and so much more. I found it really nice that Gone switched points of view. A nearly 600 page book could get monotonous with a single narrator, but this one stayed fresh. I am very excited to read the rest of this series and the fourth one, Plague, was just released April 5. 

Have you read this series yet? Which is your favorite in the series?

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore Review

Title: I Am Number Four

Author: Pittacus Lore

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Page Count: 448 pages/467 KB

Book Type: Kindle ebook

Publisher: HarperCollins

ISBN: 9780061969559

ASIN: B003SE75ZS

Picture from Amazon

From Goodreads: In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now. 

The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next. 

I AM NUMBER FOUR is the thrilling launch of a series about an exceptional group of teens as they struggle to outrun their past, discover their future—and live a normal life on Earth. 

I AM NUMBER FOUR. 

I AM NEXT.

My Review: The cover for this one is pretty cool. The orange and yellow are really attention getting. I like how it has the tagline, “THREE ARE DEAD.” above the title. It was what really caught my attention first. Then I saw all of the movie trailers and knew I had to check this book out. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I am sure I will at some point.

Sometimes this book felt predictable and at other times I had no idea what was going on/what was going to happen. The not knowing what was going on part wasn’t necessarily a good thing because at times it left me confused and the plot seemed random. The dog was adorable, but I had him figured out from the start. There were some interesting things with bullies and them not being who you thought at first. It was nice how everyone had some redeeming qualities.

I am eager to see the movie because, honestly, it seems like a story that would work better on the screen than on the pages. Six was my favorite character, so perhaps I will like the next book more?

Now to go on a little rant. I am not too pleased with James Frey’s little fiction factory he has going on. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can freshen up here. I really just feel bad for the authors. I’m sure I would have been suckered into a less than satisfactory deal if I desperately wanted to get published and had student loans looming over my head. It seems so silly to me that the authors cannot get credit for their work. If Frey wants to be an agent, then that is fine. I just don’t understand why he would feel the need to take recognition away from these authors. It just kind of sucks for them and makes me feel a bit guilty that I read this book.  

Have any of you seen the movie? Do you prefer the movie or the book? What are your thoughts on James Frey? Let me know in the comments!