The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden book #2)

By Julie Kagawa

Published by Harlequin, April 2013

448 pages (hardcover)

Source: NetGalley

In Allison Sekemoto's world, there is one rule left: Blood calls to blood.

She has done the unthinkable: died so that might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever—and possibly end human and vampire existence.

There's a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago—and this strain is deadly to humans and vampires alike. The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries, if Allie can get to him in time.

Allison thought that immortality was forever. But now, with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further, and Allie must face another choice she could never have imagined having to make. (from barnesandnoble.com)

Oh good grief Julie Kagawa… you sure do know how to freak me out. I read this right before a quick trip to Chicago and, while stuck in traffic, all I could think about were your descriptions of abandoned cars along interstates where surviving humans brutally die.

For me, the start of the book was slow going, probably because I had read The Immortal Rules almost a year before so I was trying to remember what had happened. Also, (spoiler alert!) there are some scenes that take place in D.C. and some of the monument references seemed a little hokey.

But then the book just took off with lots of suspense, backstabbing, angst, romance, surprise characters & alliances, gore, and brilliant writing. Regardless of the weird dreams I kept having, I couldn’t put the book down. The Eternity Cure is a beautifully written horrific tale of vampires, humans, and survival. Seriously… you need to read this book.

TOP TEN TUESDAY: My Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Sequels

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is My Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Sequels.

Sometimes finishing a book is kind of sad because you have grown to know and love the characters/world and obviously want more.

  

     

Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott
Was she reformed?

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
What mischief did she get into next?

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Duh.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Did Scarlet and Rhett ever get back together? 

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Once Colin goes to college, what girls does he meet and what mathy things does he do?

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
I think there could be a lot more to Bod’s life.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Tell me about the rest of their high school years.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
What amazing things did the characters do with the rest of their lives?

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
While Elizabeth Wein has written a companion novel (Rose Under Fire) that gives us some character updates, I would have liked a whole book about the Code Name Verity characters and how the rest of the war affects their lives.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
I think it would be hard to make a sequel to this, but I think the premise was interesting and the story was so intriguing. I just wanted to keep reading.

STUDENT REVIEW - Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House on the Prairie

By Laura Ingalls Wilder

Published by Harper Collins Publishers, 2004

352 pages (paperback)

Long, long ago, a little girl named Laura Ingalls headed west toward the prairie with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters, Mary and Carrie, and their good old bulldog, Jack. They traveled far each day in their covered wagon, driving through tall grass until they found just the right spot for their new home. With the help of their kind neighbor, Mr. Edwards, Pa built a snug little house for the family in the middle of the wide-open prairie. (from barnesandnoble.com)

This book shows a very clear description of everything you see. The ending crashed the whole book down, it could have been different because it completely changed the story. Yes, [middle schoolers should read this book] because every image was every easy to see because of the great descriptions.

--Heba S.

TOP TEN TUESDAY: The Top Ten Words/Topics That Will Make Me NOT Pick Up a Book

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is the Top Ten Words/Topics That Will Make Me NOT Pick Up a Book.

Guns 
I know little to nothing about guns and if guns are in a book then there will probably be violence and blood which I just don’t like.

Military 
Military usually equals guns so look above for my reason.

Love Triangles
How common are love triangles actually? I mean, really? Although some love triangles are interesting (ie. Will, Tessa, and Jem from the Infernal Devices series), many just have a lot of whiny angst and get annoying.

Abuse
 I am not really a fan of books that leave me depressed.

Blood
 Ick. I don’t want to see it or think about it or read about it.

Death 
Nah… I want a book where the characters live.

Fallen Angels
A bad version of vampires. Their 15 minutes of fame is over.

Manga
I still can’t figure out how to read these. I am sure some are interesting, but reading them gives me a headache.

Scary/Horror
I don’t like scary books. Nope.

Video Games
I didn’t grow up with video games (my parents thought they were a waste of time) and, honestly, I would rather read a book or hang out outside instead of playing video games. If video games are regularly referred to in books I can guarantee I will get confused simply because I don’t understand them at all.

TEACHER REVIEW - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451

By Ray Bradbury

Published by Simon & Schuster, 1954

176 pages (paperback)

Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.

Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.

When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.

First published in 1953, Fahrenheit 451 is a classic novel set in the future when books forbidden by a totalitarian regime are burned. The hero, a book burner, suddenly discovers that books are flesh and blood ideas that cry out silently when put to the torch. (from barnesandnoble.com)

Many pieces of the story have been helpful allegories. For example, the dumbing down of society. The interactice TV (in 2nd person) was helpful in talking about point of view with my class. It is very dated. Not a huge problem but it’s obvious.

--Mrs. Tess

 

STUDENT REVIEW - Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri

Ghetto Cowboy

By G. Neri

Published by Candlewick Press, 2013

224 pages (hardcover)

A street-smart tale about a displaced teen who learns to defend what's right-the Cowboy Way. (from barnesandnoble.com)

[I liked when] Boo and Cole met. Cole is from another state and forced to move with his dad. Nothing [could be improved]; this is a really good book. Yeah, [I would recommend this] because it is a good book.

--Alejandro C.

TOP TEN TUESDAY: My Top Ten Most Intimidating Books

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is the Top Ten Most Intimidating Books.

Books usually don't intimidate me, but I was quite nervous to pick these up. The cool thing, though? Once I did start to read them, I liked them! So don't be scared by the reviews or size or content. Try it. If you don't like it, you can find something else.

 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A classic so many people love. What if I’m not all that enchanted by it?

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Again, an intimidating classic.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
A beautiful tale, but what if it is just too much fantasy for me to handle?

Redwall by Brian Jacques
My husband’s favorite book. What if I don’t like it? Will my husband think I am a bad person?

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
I think the title says it all… great expectations for a book loved by many so what if it doesn’t live up to MY expectations?

 

Animal Farm by George Orwell
This book has so many metaphors and analogies so what if I don’t understand what I am supposed understand? (Luckily I read this as I was teaching a unit on the Cold War so I was able to put it all together and help my students do the same.)

Twilight by Stephenie Meyers
A big book that soooooooo many people like. Will my students hate me if I don't like it?

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Epic book made into an epic movie (at least for its time) but what if I don’t understand all the military stuff?

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway 
Hemingway is a legend in the literary world so to read a book he wrote with so much heart & angst is overwhelming.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
 I feel like this is at the top of literary achievement and that is scary. This is the one book on this list that I haven’t even attempted to pick up because it is so intimidating. Ahhhhhh!