My name is Ardis and I am an avid reader and budding writer. I want to share my love of books with others. I work with kids and am interested in finding and creating books that will ignite the reader in everyone. Contact me at: ardis.atkins@gmail.com
This is a weekly meme created by Jessica at the blog Lovin' Los Libros. check out her blog for a list of other participating blogs!
Happy Monday everyone! It's a teacher work day so we have the day off!!! I plan to spend today reading and writing blog posts (and getting over a cold). There are lots of new television shows starting up and I am enjoying getting to start shows from the beginning of it's run. Here are some musts for today:
Must Read:
This book comes out on Tuesday, January 26th, and it is a lot of fun. Party Mystery, Horror, and Teen Angst, this novel is creepy fun! For more, please visit my review of this book here.
Must Listen:
This singer is finally making a splash and now her single Here is number four on the Billboard's Hot 100.
Must See:
This is the new superhero show on the CW and it starts Arthur Darvill (Rory from Doctor Who!!!). I watched it last Thursday and it was a fun show. I think it may take some timefor the show to hit it's stride, but I am willing to watch it and see how it develops.
What are your Must Read, Listen, and See for the week? Let me know in the comments or post a link on the Lovin' Los Libros blog. Have a great week.
Please note: I won an ARC copy of this book from YA Highway. This does not influence my opinions in this review.
Synopsis (from GoodReads):
When seventeen-year-old
Breezy Lin wakes up in a shallow grave one year after her death, she
doesn’t remember who killed her or why. All she knows is that she’s
somehow conscious—and not only that, she’s able to sense who around her
is hiding a murderous past. In life, Breezy was always drawn to the
elegance of the universe and the mystery of the stars. Now she must set
out to find answers and discover what is to become of her in the gritty,
dangerous world to which she now belongs—where killers hide in plain
sight and a sinister cult is hunting for strange creatures like her.
What she finds is at once empowering, redemptive, and dangerous.
Review:
When I started reading Shallow Graves, by Kali Wallace, I didn't know what to expect. I had won the book in a giveaway which I entered because (being honest here) the book cover piqued my interest. Was this a murder mystery? A supernatural fantasy? A Gothic horror? Well the answer is it is all three! What a treat it was to read!
The story centers around a girl named Breezy who wakes up in a shallow grave. She is disoriented and panicky. And there is a man digging her out, saying creepy things. What the Hell?
I don't like it to put spoilers in reviews, so will not say too much about the specifics of the story. But I will tell you what I loved about this book:
The Angst:
Breezy wakes up a year after her death and has come to the realization that everything has changed for her, and that her loved ones have moved on. She feels free, yet stagnant at the same time. What is she supposed to do with her "life"? Why is she still able to move around? What is she? In many ways, these are questions all teens ask of themselves as they try to break free of others' expectations and begin to forge their own identity as adults. Breezy must come to terms with an existence that is far different from the one she had been planning. This is so heartbreaking.
The Mood:
The book is very much a horror novel as there are truly terrifying scenes of dread and violence as Breezy is pursued by people wishing to exploit her. Hitchhiking across the U.S., Breezy encounters every person's nightmares from creepy rides to evangelical preachers who want to "save" her. The paranoia she develops is understandable as she doesn't know who she can trust.
The Story:
Breezy's journey is one of finding out where she fits into the world. She has many people (primarily men) trying to tell her what she is and how she is supposed to react. People see her own uncertainty and seize on it to try and use her for their own means. As Breezy tries to sort out what it means to exist, she must confront an ancient evil to find answers to who (or what) she is.
Overall, I really enjoyed Shallow Graves. It had complex characters, mystery (How did she die, anyway?), and all out horror. I found many of the scenes touching as she tries to understand life, death, and everything in between.
Rating:
Release Date: January 26th, 2016
Source: Giveaway from YA Highway (author website). Format: Paperback Recommendation: For horror & mystery fans, this is a creepy, poignant story of loss, and struggle and acceptance.
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