The Breakaway by Michelle Davidson Argyle

~Spoiler Alert~

Do not read if you do not want to know how the book ends!

"The word normal had never described her, even now. All she had done for the last month was sleep, eat, and read. She obeyed every order. She was their perfect puppet. Her mind was in a rut like a song stuck on repeat. She was getting so sick of it she wanted to curl up and die. Had she felt like this her entire life, or did she only notice now because the situation was more intimate?" -- The Breakaway

Naomi Jensen is kidnapped and held captive, yet her captors are likable characters and start to treat her as if she were family. How do you react to that when all you've known your whole life revolves around parents who care more about their careers than their daughter? Naomi is torn between how she should feel and react in this situation. She even falls in love with one of her captors, Jesse, but is this just a residual effect of Stockholm Syndrome? Well you must read this book to decide for yourself.

As for me, I absolutely loved this book! I couldn't put it down, but of course had to as I have a 10 month old daughter and got distracted constantly! If I had had the chance this book would have been read in one sitting. It had a way of captivating me, Michelle's writing flows and is so lyrical and descriptive that I literally felt a part of the book.

Naomi's character was one that I hated and loved all at the same time...yet I understood how she reacted to being kidnapped. She felt weak and helpless and that she wasn't a brave person at all, but really who would be in that situation? I even found myself liking her captors right down to the end of the book, and was sad when they were caught. Yet, technically I shouldn't have felt that way, who wants a kidnapper to go free? Or better yet, who wants the kidnapper and kidnappee to fall in love? I did! I wanted her to stay with them. I loved this line in the book and perfectly describes how Naomi felt once free..."Jesse was right. She was free now, but what was freedom without happiness?"

I loved that Michelle combined kidnapping, cooking, good food, classic literature, suspense, drama, and romance in this novel. At times I almost could smell the food they were cooking and eating in the book. It read more like poetry and I loved that!

A great young adult book that I would highly recommend for high school students and even adults!

The Breakaway by Michelle Davidson Argyle

So excited for this book to come out! Check it out and Michelle is doing a giveaway right now on her blog: http://theinnocentflower.blogspot.com/2012/03/breakaway-giveaway.html

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

A hauntingly good read that mixes in history, romance, and mystery! This historical fiction young adult novel is loosely based on Theodore Dreiser's, An American Tragedy.

Set in 1906 the book follows the present and past of Mattie Gokey, a worker at the Glenmore hotel. Her story is intertwined in a murder mystery at the hotel when guest Grace Brown's body is found in the lake. The same Grace Brown who recently entrusted Mattie to burn some letters for her. These letters turn out to be the key to why Grace was murdered. Mattie's story is fictional, while the letters and death of Grace Brown are based on a true story. Connelly intertwines fact and fiction seamlessly.

Jennifer Donnelly's writing holds you captive and reads very poetically! I loved this book and the mesmerizing characters kept me reading non-stop until the end! Not only is this a great book for teens, but for adults as well! A definite great read!

Higher Institute of Villianous Education (HIVE) by Mark Walden

I was going to post a review about each book, but seeing as I just finished the 6th book in the series and the 7th one doesn't come out until September 2011, I figured I'd review the first six books in the series.

I absolutely love this series and am stoked for the next book to be released. Unfortunately when I wanted to read more in the series I realized only the 1st book (HIVE: Higher Institute of Villainous Education & HIVE: The Overlord Protocol) were the only two books published in the United States. That is not the case anymore, I believe you can purchase any of these books on Amazon, and can even purchase the box set pictured above. Wish in a small way I had waited instead of purchasing through AmazonUK, but oh well!

The title is what initially intrigued me to read the 1st book. I thought for sure it would be just like Harry Potter only without the magic, but I was pleasantly surprised by how different and fun this series is! Yes it does resemble Harry Potter a bit with the life/death situations that arise while they are at "HIVE" being schooled to be villains, but all the characters stand strong and are very relatable to teens and easy to like and enjoy while getting into the story. I do have to admit that the first book is still my favorite, but I've enjoyed reading the rest and as I said before look forward to the next book. I think the idea of teens being abducted from their homes, orphanages, etc... to go to this school was a fun premise. They are kidnapped and drugged so they don't know the remote location of the island the school is on. They come to find out later on their families all know about the school and them being enrolled there, but weren't allowed to say anything. Otto Malpense, the main character and orphan is the main focus of the series and builds around the mystery of his childhood and strange abilities. Each student selected to attend this school has a special ability that makes them an assets to the school. Although I find it interesting and a bit ironic that they all seem to be less villain-like and more of heroes as the series progresses, and by the 6th book I had almost forgotten that they are supposed to be villains in training! This of course may be all tied together whenever the series ends.

Overall the books are fun, adventurous, a bit sci-fi like with over the top technology, and full of action and rich characters. I would definitely recommend this series especially to tweens and teens and any kids who have liked Harry Potter.

Book 1 - HIVE: Higher Institute of Villainous Education

Book 2 - HIVE: Overlord Protocol

Book 3 - HIVE: Escape Velocity

Book 4 - HIVE: Dreadnought

Book 5 - HIVE: Rogue

Book 6 - HIVE: Zero Hour

Book 7 - HIVE: Aftershock (NOT YET PUBLISHED)

The Book Worm Blog!

If you like Teen or Young Adult books, you will definitely want to check out The Book Worm Blog my friend has started! Great reviews of all sorts of YA books! I know I've put a bunch of the books reviewed on my "to read" list. A great blog and it is updated quite frequently! Hope you check it out!

http://janeece-thebookworm.blogspot.com/