Review: Article 5

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Author: Kristen Simmons

Series: Article 5, #1

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: Hardback Finished Copy

Pages: 364

Release Date: January 31, 2012

Publisher: Tor Teen

Original Price: $17.99

ISBN: 978-0-7653-2958-5

Source: Publisher

My Rating: * * * * * (5 stars)

COMPLIANCE IS MANDATORY. 
New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned. The Bill of rights has been revoked and replaced with the Moral Statutes.
There are no more police--instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior--instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested don't usually come back.
Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.
In the three years since the war ended, Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.
That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And what's worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings...the only boy Ember has ever loved.

The Cover:
The simplicity of the cover is stunning. The stark gray buildings contrast greatly against the red of the title and Chase's shirt. It is gorgeous.


Review:
Article 5 twisted my feelings very much. I felt frustration, compassion, cruelty, and so many more indescribable feelings. At the beginning, it was a slow pace, and I became semi-uninterested in the book. I put it down, then picked it up again a few hours later. Everything changed. My eyes were locked on the words, and I could not quit reading. It was a thrilling, amazing ride until the conclusion.


I felt connected to Ember. Besides having a beautiful name, she was headstrong, but also vulnerable, both physically and mentally. Her short stature of five four did nothing to impede her screaming at Chase constantly. In the end, I could not help but like Ember as a character.


Chase was fierce, cold, and at times, a monster. Yet, everything he did was for the love of his life, Ember. Since before he left to join as a soldier, he loved Ember. Even as a soldier, he could not forget her, and that was his greatest fault to the FBR. I admired the way he protected her. He truly was honorable, and I think that Ember and Chase are a great duo.


Overall, I recommend Article 5 to anyone who loves dystopian, and wants a book with memorable characters that will haunt them the rest of their lives.


The Author:

Kristen Simmons has a master's degree in social work and is an advocate for mental health. She lives with her husband, Jason, and their precious greyhound, Rudy, in Tampa, Florida. Article 5 is her first novel.

The Lying Game (The Lying Game #1)

Author: Sara Shepard
Series: The Lying Game, #1
Age Group: Young Adult
Challenge: None
Format: Hardback
Pages: 307
Published: December 7, 2010
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: School Library
My Rating: * * * * *

I HAD A LIFE ANYONE WOULD KILL FOR.


THEN SOMEONE DID.


The worst part of being dead is that there's nothing left to live for. No more kisses. No more secrets. No more gossip. It's enough to kill a girl all over again. But I'm about to get something no one else does--an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.


Now Emma's desperate to know what happened to me. And the only way to figure it out is to be me--to slip into my old life and piece it all together. But can she laugh at inside jokes with my best friends? Convince my boyfriend she's the girl he fell in love with? Pretend to be happy, carefree daughter when she hugs my parents good night? And can she keep up the charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her every move?


LET THE LYING GAME BEGIN.

I feel bad reading The Lying Game before Pretty Little Liars.  I loved the Pretty Little Liars show up to the point where I stopped watching it. Unfortunately, ABC Family was taken away from my cable, and I kept forgetting to watch it online. So...since I loved Pretty Little Liars, the show, I was expecting to begin those books first and love them. But, things did not turn out that way. I ended up reading The Lying Game first, which is not necessarily a bad thing, considering I loved it! It was amazing, enchanting, and a great mystery!


Emma is your average foster child. She has been moved from house to house. Sutton, on the other hand, is...not. She has had the privileged, spoiled life. So, it can rightly be said that Emma got the short end of the stick. Luckily, everything is about to turn upside down. Sutton dies. And Emma gets to live Sutton's life. Amazing, right? Wrong, because someone was out to kill Sutton...and Emma is next. The cherry on top of the sundae.


I love these types of mysteries, but at the same type, I become really frustrated. I just want to know who it is! Should I already know? Who knows? I am just going to wait until the author tells me, which probably won't be for awhile.


Oh, I wanted to talk about one more thing. The love interest. Garrett, obviously, is out of the picture for Emma. Sutton may have liked him, but Emma doesn't. Now Ethan, he is a hottie. "The brooding type," to be more specific. Just like how Emma likes them. But it appears that Sutton did something to him, just like she has done to many other guys. Will "that" tear them apart from each other? Read and find out.


About the Author:
Sara Shepard is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series Pretty Little Liars. She graduated from New York University and has an MFA from Brooklyn College. Sara recently moved back to Philadelphia's Main Live from Arizona, where The Lying Game is set.

The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride #1)

Author: James Patterson


Series: Maximum Ride, #1


Pages: 422


Published: April 11, 2005


My Rating: * * * * *


Click here for a look at the Maximum Ride series, and other books by James Patterson.








Summary
WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE.
Do not put this book down. I'm dead serious--your life could depend on it. I'm risking everything by telling you--but you need to know.
STRAP YOURSELF IN
for the thrill ride you'll want to take again and again! From Death Valley, California, to the bowels of the New York City subway system, you're about to take off on a heart-stopping adventure that will blow you away....
YOUR FAITHFUL COMPANIONS:
Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel. Six kids who are pretty normal in most ways--except that they're 98 percent human, 2 percent bird. They grew up in a lab, living like rats in cages, but now they're free.  Aside, of course, for Erasers--wicked, wolflike creatures with a taste for flying humans.
THE MISSIONS:
Rescue Angel from malicious mutants.  Infiltrate a secret facility to track down the flock's missing parents.  Scavenge for sustenance.  Get revenge on an evil traitor.  And save the world.  If there's time.
PREPARE FOR LAUNCH: THESE PAGES FLY.
Opinions & Thoughts
AMAZING! I loved these series. Although, when I began this series, I made a terrible mistake. I thought Max was a boy. Sorry, sorry, I know it was a ridiculous mistake, but think about it. Max IS a boy's name, and I was only on the first four chapters. So....I later found out that Max was a girl when Iggy kept calling Max a SHE. Bingo! My first reaction was to slap my forehead, then, I burst out laughing(which earned me strange looks from my parents). For some unknown reason, I found it hilarious. Maybe it was my way of hiding my embarrassment.  Wherever you are James Patterson, I'm very sorry for thinking Max was a boy.
Anyways, let's discuss the characters. Max- my kind of girl, kick butt, strong, smart(unlike Bella from Twilight, but that's another story). Fang- dark(not just moody, but he always wore black), mysterious, quiet, my type of guy. Iggy- one of the most amazing blind guys ever, I mean he could make a bomb! His humor just had me laughing my guts out. Nudge- didn't really like her, but she was tolerable. A total blabbermouth. Angel- the cutest sweetest girl, but I will say that she kind of creeped me out by the end of the book(won't say why, you have to read it to find out).  I still like her a lot, though.
When I was reading the first book, I kept thinking that maybe Patterson had meant to make The Angel Experiment into more than one book, because he was constantly reminding me of their mission, the characters, and the like. Just seemed like it was maybe two or three books blended into one.
Overall, one of my favorite books ever. Certainly something I would read again, and I will definitely continue reading the series, down to the last book. Max was someone I could relate to, she seemed down to earth, yet hardened by her experience, and not some weak helpless girl(it seems like every book I read lately, every girl is like this). I loved how they were all superstrong, and the whole flying concept, I was grinning from ear to ear.(a really cool idea) The characters go from California to New York, so there is a change of scene, and interesting new places. This book deserves its five stars.