In My Mailbox #17

This post was scheduled to publish on Sunday but for some reason it didn't work, so here it is now...

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter (ARC)
Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable
Zombies Don't Cry by Rusty Fischer (ARC)
The Witch of Turlingham Academy: Secrets and Sorcery by Ellie Boswell *
Sammy Feral's Diaries of Weird by Eleanor Hawken *
Monster High: Ghoulfriends Forever by Gitty Daneshvari
The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore (Signed!)
Secrets, Lies and Locker 62 by Lil Chase *

A * means that I have already read/started reading the book.

I wanted to include a picture of the signed page in The Rise of Nine but my camera died before I could take a photo so I'll do it in next week's IMM.

Thank you to Quercus, Puffin, Atom, Chicken House, HarperCollins and Egmont!

*Edit* I also got Pushing The Limits by Kate McGarry.

Torn by David Massey

Afghanistan.   

In the heat and dust, young British army medic Elinor Nielson watches an Afghan girl walk into a hail of bullets. But when she runs to help, Ellie finds her gone. 

Who is she? And what's happened to her?   

What Ellie discovers makes her question everything she believes in - even her feelings for the American lieutenant who takes her side.

At first, I didn't think I would enjoy this book at all. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might have noticed that there aren't many reviews of war books. However, when Chicken House sent it to me, I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised!

'Torn' deals with issues such as child soldiers, in such a way that it's easy to understand and the book doesn't become too heavy. At the end there was a small twist, which I loved - it made the ending a lot more cheerful!

Throughout the book, Ellie forms a crush on American Lieutenant, Ben which adds a bit of fun to the story. I think there could've been more romance though, as it was only towards the end.

My favourite characters were Ellie, Ben and Chip (another soldier who Ellie becomes friends with). It's hard to decide who my absolute favourite out of those three is. Possibly Chip - he was nice to Ellie and made everything into a joke to make her feel better in serious situations.

'Torn' is perfect for readers who don't like too much blood and guts and it's fine for any age. It's such a good book! 5/5.

Thanks to Chicken House for sending this to me, I loved it!

Official Publication Date: 2nd August 2012
Note: Sorry this was such a short review, I'm leaving to go on holiday in half an hour so I had to rush it a bit. You can buy this book HERE.

In My Mailbox #16

I got a good number of books this week! I have already finished reading three of them so reviews will be up very soon.

This is what was written on 'The Look' postcard.

The signed copy.

Look at the cool envelope 'Shadows' by Ilsa J. Bick came in!

As you can see, I got two copies of 'The Look'. One was from the publisher for review, and the other one was a signed copy from the author because I won it in her competition.

Revived by Cat Patrick

BFFs: Sink or Swim by Holly Robbins

Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick (ARC)

Torn by David Massey and postcard

The Look by Sophia Bennett (x2) and postcard

Thanks to Egmont, Chicken House, Quercus and Sophia Bennett.

Revived by Cat Patrick

The world fades to nothing, and before I have the chance to think another thought...I'm dead. 

My name is Daisy West and my whole life is a lie. 

I'm part of a programme to test a drug called Revive - a drug that brings people back from the dead. I have died five times. I've been Revived five times. With each revival comes a new home, a new name, a new town...a new life. 

But this time I won't let myself die. This time, I've found a love that I can't let go. This time, I'm going to make my life my own.

Wow, wow, wow. 'Revived' is definitely one of the best books I've read in a while! It has such a unique plot, and the idea of the drug that brings people back from the dead is fascinating. Maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea in real life though - everywhere would get so crowded! But in this story, it works as it is only tested on a select group of people.

Daisy West was in a bus crash with nineteen other children when she was younger. That was only the beginning of a life-long adventure. Every time she dies, she gets revived. Daisy and her family move thousands of miles away each time, changing their last name and Daisy attends different schools. She hasn't found anywhere she particularly cares about - until they move to Omaha, Nebraska. That's when everything changes.

I really like the cover of this book. It ties in with Cat Patrick's other book, Forgotten, so you can tell they were written by the same person.

One of my favourite characters was Audrey, Daisy's new best friend. She was so cheerful and positive, that *spoiler alert* when she announced she had cancer, you just didn't see it coming. It made me sad when I found out, I could empathise well with her. Her brother, Matt, was also pretty cool and I think it was nice that he was there for Daisy, and she was there for him. Even when they were 1,200 miles away from each other, he still managed to save her life.

There were also some surprisingly sinister characters in this book, which added some interesting twists in the story. Honestly, I was awake until 2am last night reading Revived because I just couldn't put it down!

My review of this book really hasn't done it justice. It's a way better book than my words can describe. Teens and adults would enjoy this book - I give it a rating of 5/5. I loved it so much!

Thanks so much to Egmont for sending this to me for review.

Official Publication Date: 2nd July 2012.
Note: You can buy this book HERE.

Ruby Redfort: Look Into My Eyes by Lauren Child

Here's the low-down on Ruby Redfort: she's a genius code-cracker, a daring detective, and a gadget-laden special agent who just happens to be a thirteen-year-old girl.  

She and her slick side-kick butler, Hitch, foil crimes and get into loads of scrapes with evil villains but they're always ice-cool in a crisis.  

Normal life is a total yawn. Break out of boredom with super-awesome Ruby Redfort.

The cover of this book is awesome - I like how you can only see Ruby's eyes as it makes the cover look more mysterious. The green and pink add a nice splash of colour.

This book is full of exciting adventures, murderous villains, perplexing codes and difficult missions. Ruby is meant to be thirteen, and even though she's a 'genius', sometimes I thought she seemed more like an eleven year old. However I don't think this really matters as some people don't act their age, and that includes characters in books! My only problem with this book is that it was very slow-paced in places.

I read this all in one sitting. It was a fun book to read, and I liked imagining how Ruby would get out of the dramatic, near-death experiences she would get herself into. The secret codes Ruby and her friend used were so good that I couldn't decipher them - maybe it would've been good if the translation had been at the bottom of the page in small print or something.

I used to read other books by Lauren Child when I was little, such as Clarice Bean and Charlie and Lola, so it's nice that she's finally written a book for my current age group.

This book is fine for girls and boys aged 10-14, and could probably be read to a slightly younger child. I give it a rating of 4/5 - a point deducted for the occasional slow pace. Overall though, this is a fantastic book!

Thanks to HarperCollins for sending me this!

Official Publication Date: 29th September 2011
Note: You can buy this HERE.