Book Review: The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt

The Things a Brother Knows 
by Dana Reinhardt
Release Date: September 13th, 2011
Publisher: Ember
Format: Paperback, 256 pages
Source: John Muir Middle School Library
ISBN: 978-03758-44560
Get a Copy: 
      Barnes and Nobles
      Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Levi's older brother Boaz returns from fighting with the Marines in the Middle East. He's safe. Levi's family has waited three long years for this. But Boaz is no longer the brother Levi thought he knew. Even if nobody else wants to see it, Levi can tell that Boaz has changed; something's wrong. When Boaz announces he's off to hike the Appalachian Trail, Levi knows he's lying. He's heading somewhere else. So Levi follows, determined to understand who his brother was, what he's been through, and how to bring him home again.

Cindy's Review: The Things a Brother Knows is another one of the CYRM 2013 nominee. This is in the Young Adult section competing against Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl and Matched by Ally Condie. I honestly think it won't win due to how famous and popular Beautiful Creatures and Matched is. It's a battle between those two books. Personally, who would I choose? Hmmm. Even though I like the Beautiful Creatures series better than Matched and I think Matched isn't the best written book ever, I think I'll still choose Matched for the Young Adult section. 

The Cover: 
The cover is okay to me. The only comment I made about it that Levi in the cover does not look 5'9" or was it 5'11"? I forgot.

The Characters/Plot: 
Levi - Levi is 17, almost 18 when his brother, Boaz who is perfect and popular came back from the army. When Boaz came back, he changed completely and was quiet all the time. One day Boaz packed and started to take a walking trip to Washington D.C. 

Levi thought there was something wrong with Boaz, so Levi also decides to go follow Boaz. Together they walked across the country to Washington D.C. 

The ending was kind of sad. I actually cried. LOL. 

The Extras: 
I think this book was kind of boring compared to the other two books. Even though there is some romance, I just don't seem to connect with this book. ;(

Parpar = butterfly    

So if you want to read my review for Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1), here it is: 
http://bookaholicfaggots.blogspot.com/2012/09/book-review-beautiful-creatures-by-kami.html

And if you want Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2) review:
http://bookaholicfaggots.blogspot.com/2012/09/book-review-beautiful-darkness-by-kami.html

And the Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3) review: 
http://bookaholicfaggots.blogspot.com/2012/10/book-review-beautiful-chaos-by-kami.html

And lastly Beautiful Redemption (Caster Chronicles #4) review: 
http://bookaholicfaggots.blogspot.com/2013/01/book-review-beautiful-redemption-by.html

Okay. I dunno why just advertised Beautiful Creatures series so much. LOL.

Oh. And I don't have a review of Matched on my blog because I read that book all the way back in sixth grade and I didn't have a blog yet back then. LOL. 

The Rating:
(1-10): 7.5

Happy Reading~

Book Review: Beautiful Redemption by Margaret Stohl and Kamie Garcia

+Kami Garcia +margaret stohl 
Beautiful Redemption (Caster Chronicles #4)
by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Release Date: October 23rd, 2012
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Format: ebook, 215 pages
Source: ePubBud
ISBN: 978-0-316-21460-5
Get a Copy: 
      Barnes and Nobles
      Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Is death the end . . . or only the beginning? 

Ethan Wate always dreamed of leaving the stifling Southern town of Gatlin. But he never dreamt that finding love with Lena Duchannes would drive him away. Lena is a Caster girl whose supernatural powers unveiled a secretive and cursed side of Gatlin, so powerful it forced him to make a terrible sacrifice. 

Now Ethan must find a way to return to Lena - and Gatlin - as she vows to do whatever it takes to get him back. Even if it means trusting old enemies or risking their loved ones' lives. Can Ethan and Lena rewrite their fate and their spellbinding love story in this stunning finale to the Beautiful Creatures series?

Cindy's Review: I finally got to read the last book in the Caster Chronicles series! Moohahahah. I first saw this series in a book order and I saw Beautiful Chaos selling, so I thought it was an interesting book to read. Then, I saw Beautiful Creatures, Beautiful Darkness, and Beautiful Chaos selling in my school's Book Fair, so I decided to buy all three. I didn't realize till after that Beautiful Redemption was going to come out soon. And I never got to buy it....until now... ;)

The Cover:

Yes. Those sexy letters are back. ;) I love the font of the title. It's the same font used in all four books but the color of each covers are different. 

The Characters/Plot: 

If you haven't read the previous books in the series, you should not read this review!! It includes a spoiler for the previous book, Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3). 

Ethan Lawson Wate - Ethan dies!!. Or suicides. Whatever you call it, to save the world. Now that he's dead, he finds out that he is in the Otherworld. There, he sees his mom again and also Aunt Prue. He then learns that he can actually go back to the Mortal World and become a mortal again. But it isn't that easy. He will have to go into Far Keep and sneak into the library that keeps the book called Caster Chronicles and rip out his page. Sounds easy? Well, not when the evil Keeper named Angelus gets in your way. 

Angelus - An evil Keeper that tries his best to become a Caster. Anything, including killing himself. 

With the help of the people in the Mortal World, Ethan goes on his quest to be back with the love of his life, even when it means losing another person in return. You always have to trade a life, for a life. Everything is fair that way.

The Extras:

And that's what makes the ending so sad. But in the end, it kinda is happy. I mean, at least, ____ is at peace now. :) And I love those couples there. They are all so cayoot!! Yeah! 

I would like to thank Kami Garcia and Margaret Sthol for writing such a wonderful book! 

The Rating: (1-10): 8.9!!

Also, remember those Shadow Songs I decided to show you guys at the end of my previous reviews of the Caster Chronicles series? Well, I have another poem to share!!

This time, it is out of the Caster Chronicles itself:

A Seer's moons, a Sirens's tears,

Nineteen Mortal, Wayward fears,

Incubus graves and Caster rivers,

The Final Page the End delivers. 

Definitely haunting. <3

Happy Reading~

Book Review: Dream Dark by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Dream Dark (Caster Chronicles #2.5)
By Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Book Released: August 2nd, 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 75
Get a Copy: 
          Barnes and Nobles
          Amazon

Goodreads Summary: When Link joined his best friend, Ethan Wate, on a quest through a mysterious network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, he knew the journey would be dangerous. But returning home to Gatlin, South Carolina was just the beginning...

Wounded during a climactic battle, Link discovers that tending his injuries won't be as simple as visiting a doctor and that healing his arm should be the least of his worries. For being bitten by a Supernatural does more than break the skin -- it changes a person, inside and out, turning Link into someone more and more like the dark creature who injured him.

In this never-before-seen short story by New York Times bestselling authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, listeners witness Link's heart-racing transformation. Dream Dark is set before the much-anticipated third Beautiful Creatures novel, Beautiful Chaos, and as a special bonus includes an exclusive sneak peek at the first five chapters.

Cindy's Review: Dream Dark is still Ethan's point of view, but it's all about Link. The book started when Link finds out he's turning into a Incubus and now, he's learning how to control himself and all that. It's a really really short story so there isn't much to say. LOL. 

But anyways, looking forward in reading Beautiful Redemption!

Rate: (1-10): 8.5

Book Review; Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Chaos 
By Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Release Date: June 12th, 2012
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 576
Format: Paperback
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Get a Copy: 
              Barnes and Nobles
              Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home from the Great Barrier, strangeand impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected -- and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What -- or who -- will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?


For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it's not Lena -- and the mysterious figure is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself -- forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and he's afraid to ask. 

Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.
SPECIAL BONUS: Includes "Dream Dark," a thrilling short story set before Beautiful Chaos. When Link joined his best friend, Ethan Wate, on a quest through a mysterious network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, he knew the journey would be dangerous. But he had no idea it would change his life forever.

Cindy's Review: It took me a while to read this book, not because it was bad, but because I had to read some blog tour books, and there are just some books I have to read. Beautiful Chaos is the third book in  the Beautiful Creatures series, and it ends in a cliffhanger. Or maybe an ending. I won't tell you anything. Omg. i can tell this is gonna be a super short review. Like I can't talk without telling the ending. 

So throughout the book, Ethan learns that someone has to die in order to restore the Order. The only problem is that he doesn't know who is it. 

Here is the Eighteenth Moon song/prophecy thing: 
Eighteenth Moons, eighteen Sheers,
Feeding off your deepest fears,
Vexed to find as Darkness nears,
Secret eyes and hidden ears...

Eighteen Moons, eighteen nears,
The Wheel of Fate herself appears,
Then the One Who Is Two
Will bring the Order back anew...

Eighteen Moons, eighteen dead
Eighteen turned upon their head,
The Earth above, the sky below
The End of Days, the Reaper's Row...

I dunno why this song is so short. But it's how it ends. Can't wait for Beautiful Redemption! It comes out this month! I need to get my hands on it.