The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

What I loved about Stephenie Meyer's novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, was that while reading, I instantly wanted to open up Eclipse and compare Bree and Bella's descriptions of one another. So that is what I did :]

Bree-
"It was her-the human I'd been hunting just a few minutes ago. The scent my whole body had been focused toward. The sweet, wet scent of the most delicious blood I'd ever tracked. My mouth and throat fell like they were on fire.
I tried wildly to hold on to my reason- to focus on the fact that Jasper was just waiting for me to jump up again so that he could kill me- but only part of me could do it. I felt like I was about to pull into two halves trying to keep myself here.
The human named Bella stared at me with stunned brown eyes. Looking at her made it worse. I could see the blood flushing through her thin skin. I tried to look anywhere else, but my eyes kept circling back to her...
The girl met my stare, but her expression was so different from what it should have been. Though I could feel that my lips were curled back from my teeth, though I trembled with the effort to stop myself from springing at her, she did not look afraid of me. Instead she seemed fascinated. It almost looked like she wanted to speak to me-like she had a question she wanted me to answer."

Bella-
"The girl was curled into a small ball beside the flames, her arms wrapped around her legs. She was very young. Younger than me-she looked maybe fifteen, dark-haired and slight. Her eyes were focused on me, and the irises were a shocking, brilliant red. Much brighter than Riley's, almost glowing. They wheeled wildly, out of control...
After a second of fruitless searching, my gaze crept back to the young female vampire.  She was still watching me, her eyes half-mad.
I met the girl's stare for a long moment. Chin-length dark hair framed her face, which was alabaster pale. It was hard to tell if her features were beautiful, twisted as they were by rage and thirst. The feral red eyes were dominant- hard to look away from. She glared at me viciously, shuddering and writhing every few seconds.
I stared at her, mesmerized, wondering if  I were looking into a mirror of my future."

The brilliance of this story is how Meyer could take a seemingly unimportant character, such as Bree, and create her whole world that was as believable and mesmerizing as that of Bella's. It was really interesting to see the dark side of vampires for a change, and still be engrossed in the story so much that the different dynamics of the red eyed versus the yellow eyed was not an issue. Even though readers know how this tragic tale will end, one still cannot put this yet another Meyer masterpiece down. And, I must admit, I almost liked Bree's voice better than Bella's. I know, shocking, but it was a nice change of narrator.

All in all, a definite must-read for Twilight fans.

Shiver is the new Twilight

Honestly, I have been avoiding the whole YA paranormal frenzy since the Twilight epidemic. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of the Cullen clan and the Bella-Edward-Jacob triangle, but the teen fad has turned me off a bit from the series. Anyhow, I saw Shiver at Barnes and Noble and fell in love with the cover. I did not even read the description on the back. Instead, I wrote the title down, requested it from the library, and picked it up a week later. Now, six days have passed and I have finished reading it- yes I know that took a while but I am a college student and two jobs are needed in order to pay tuition, which does not leave a lot of reading time unfortunately.

Anyways, I am still in awe. 

Publisher's Weekly says- "For years, Grace has been fascinated by the yellow-eyed wolf that saved her from its pack when she was a child. Sam, bitten by a wolf as a boy, is that wolf. Long obsessed with each other at a distance, they finally meet after a wolf hunt (inspired by the apparent death of a local teen) sends a wounded and temporarily human Sam into Grace's arms. Their young love is facilitated by Grace's hands-off parents Once upon a time, I would've leaped at the rare opportunity of curling up with Mom on the couch. But now, it sort of felt like too little, too late, Grace muses), but threatened by two linked crises: the fact that Sam will soon lose the ability to become human and the instability of a new lycanthrope. Stiefvater skillfully increases the tension throughout; her take on werewolves is interesting and original while her characters are refreshingly willing to use their brains to deal with the challenges they face."

Maggie Stiefvater's magical prose is glittering, poetic, and musical, creating a romantic tone that all readers can appreciate. I was pulled in by the first paragraph:

"I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves. They were licking me, biting me, worrying at my body, pressing in. Their huddled bodies blocked what little heat the sun offered. Ice glistened on their ruffs and their breath made opaque shapes that hung in the air around us. The musky smell of their coats made me think of wet dog and burning leaves, pleasant and terrifying. Their tongues melted my skin; their careless teeth ripped at my sleeves and snagged through my hair, pushed against my collarbone, the pulse at my neck.

I could have screamed, but I didn't. I could have fought but I didn't. I just lay there and let it happen, watching the winter-white sky go gray above me."

The whole book's narrative is breathtaking, lyrical, and beautiful. Stiefavter alternates between Grace and Sam, creating a balance between their two voices and a rounded point of view for the story. Parts of the book were a bit predictable, but while reading, it did not bother me because of my fascination with the vivid descriptions and vibrant diction throughout. Beware, Shiver did end on a cliffhanger, so one must read the sequel- Linger, review coming soon since I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

Dreaming of summer...

I am officially dreaming of summer days, where I can wear a tank top and flip flops, lounge on a beautiful beach, and read a good book. Since it is only February, my fantasy is a bit far-fetched. But I am counting down the days till June, when not only is it my favorite time of the year (my birthday is in July), but it is a time when I do not have to think about any schoolwork. I can focus on reading whatever I want without feeling guilty about it. So, in preparation for this lovely time of year, and yes, I know it is four months away, I have begun my Summer Reading List. A compilation of all the books that I have heard about, read about, seen, or been recommended to me, that unfortunately, I do not have the time to read right now. So here is the beginning of this very important list, that I will be adding to throughout this semester. I will also tell you where I heard about each one, which may help with your own reading adventures.

1. Sarah’s Key- Tatiana de Rosnay
2. The Forest of Hands and Teeth- Carrie Ryan

*I read about both of these books on an online college blog called College Candy, where there is a series called "Saturday Read." These reviews are very thorough and cover a bunch of different genres each week. Check it out!

3. True Blood series- Charlaine Harris

*I am assuming that everyone has read, or at the very least, heard of the Twilight series. They are the best books, love story, yay vampires, blah blah blah. Yeah, I know they are good. But I think the fad has gone too far, especially as a fan of the books before anyone read them, and when someone asked what you were reading and you said it was about vampires, you received a strange look. Ok no more Twilight rant. So apparently before Twilight ruled the teen world, Charlaine Harris wrote a series of books called True Blood. There is a television show based on these books, although I have never seen it. A friend recommended these books to me, and said that she couldn't put them down. So why not?

4. An Abundance of Katherines- John Green
5. Looking for Alaska- John Green

*I reviewed Paper Towns by John Green a couple months ago, and then saw these two books pop up while I was skimming through Amazon. His other book was good, so I figured I would try these out too. If I like one of a particular author's books, I will usually try out the rest of his/her collection. Typically, when one is good, the others that he or she have written are on the same level. This is not true for every author, but it is worth a try.

I will add more when I stumble on one that is worthy of this very memorable list. Stay tuned.