Hollywood Hustle by Gordon Korman Review

"The fast-paced, funny sequel to the best-selling Son of the Mob.

Vince Luca is in heaven . . . he''s off to Los Angeles, to attend the University of Santa Monica''s film school. College should be fantastic, and he is more thrilled about being 3,000 miles away from his mob family.

But as it turns out, college brings its own problems: from other film students moving in on his girl, to a kleptomaniac roommate, to having to get a job on campus to help pay tuition. It''s a fair amount to handle, though nothing Vince couldn''t easily manage - if he didn''t keep finding himself with unexpected guests from the East Coast. It seems Vince''s dad may just be ready to expand operations to L.A.

With the popularity of shows such as "The Sopranos," the mafia is a topic of intrigue for young adults. The fast-paced plot, hilarious dialogue and Korman''s keen understanding of teen issues, made this a bestseller and a critical success."

Hollywood Hustle is a huge DISAPPOINTMENT. DON'T READ THIS BOOK. IT'S SUCH A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT. DON'T EVEN BOTHER READING IT.

Why?

Problem #1: Less humor as the previous book. Son of The Mob was delightful and free-spirited. This book was more serious and a little more moodier.

Problem #2: I felt that this book wasn't as innocent as it use to be. In Son of the Mob, the innocence was one characteristic that made the book must more addicting to read. Now it just feels as if this book has gone from Children's Fiction to Adult's Fiction. Or at least Young Adult Fiction. The growth of inappropriateness has gone bananas.

Problem #3: Gordon Korman has let the character off the hook too easily. Vince was involved with the mob and he gets away with it. He's not exactly the type of person who is good at hiding secrets especially with FBI agents spying on him. Vince also cheated on his girlfriend, Kendra. Kendra let Vince off the hook way  to easily too. What kind of girl would let her boyfriend off the hook if the boyfriend has cheated with another woman? Where is the logic is this situation?

Problem #4: Vince went to college or "university" because of his website. All the sudden, this book starts with Vince abilities to do directing. What happen to creating a website? Where is the logic, Mr. Gordon?

Problem #5: The father... Seriously? You have children and you are still with the mob? Isn't that a little too dangerous. And you also butcher someone while your son's girlfriend is over for dinner. That's wonderful. Tortured screams while you drink orange juice. Imagine that.

Problem #6: The FBI... Over the events of the past two books, you should have received enough evidence to put Anthony Lucas in prison.

Problem #7: Tommy/Vince's stupidity... Vince has repeated this phrase over and over again that once you are in the mob, you are in for live. It's the Life. This applies to Tommy. Tommy, seemly quit mob Life, began to appear normal. Vince was stupid enough to actually believe his act. Once you are in the mob, you are in for life. What happen to your motto, Vince? Isn't it clear that Tommy was just trying to do something horrible and inhumane? Gosh, Vince, you are getting worse over the years.

Problem #8: The logic of Hollywood Hustle... I believe that is all I need to say.

The good stuff...

Goodie #1: The plot is good and smooth. It is easy to understand for young children.

Goodie #2: Movie Scripts in Hollywood Hustle... It is refreshing to see these scripts instead of the paragraphs I am used too.

Goodie #3: The mob. I love how the mobs just keeps on following Vince. With the mob coming over for dinner, things will never die down. It is so amusing to see or to hear them talk about their education. That was a good moment.

Hollywood Hustle receives a one out of five. What a disappointment.

After the Snow by S.D. Crockett Review

"Fifteen-year-old Willo was out hunting when the trucks came and took his family away. Left alone in the snow, Willo becomes determined to find and rescue his family, and he knows just who to talk with to learn where they are. He plans to head across the mountains and make Farmer Geraint tell him where his family has gone. 

But on the way across the mountain, he finds Mary, a refugee from the city, whose father is lost and who is starving to death. The smart thing to do would be to leave her alone -- he doesn't have enough supplies for two or the time to take care of a girl -- but Willo just can't do it. However, with the world trapped in an ice age, the odds of them surviving on their own are not good. And even if he does manage to keep Mary safe, what about finding his family?"

 Honestly I am very disappointed with this book. I expected an awestruck, rush-hour-like, violent, and fast book. Instead I receive a slow (for many parts of the book), boring, dull, and dry book.

*Yawn*

For many parts of After the Snow, Willo was just sitting around, hiding, and listening. (more yawns). There was little violence and not very much of a fast-paced book.

The biggest annoying thing is that Mary, the girl of After the Snow, was not in many of the scenes. Seriously. I expected Mary to be a much more dramatic and exciting character. Instead, she rarely appears and when she does, she plays a little six year old who is scared out of her wits and crying for her father the ponyman. Not a particular fascinating character. 

The second biggest thing is that Willo is just... slow. Slow. I wished he would just get things. Understand. But he is such a little boy. Definitely not a fifteen year old. Willo should be more hunterish and more willing to be careful like a hunter trying to find its prey. Nahhh! He is careless. Reckless, sometimes. Willo spends a major amount of time (most of wintertime) stitching up some coats for a beautiful lady (who is also a prostitute). 

The third... Well, I didn't like the twist at all. Or any of the characters. Especially Willo's father. I was irritated by all these references to Willo's father John Blake. All these ideas that were drilled in by John Blake were interesting, yes, but then it gets repeated over and over and over again. Get the picture? Annoying.

The death. From a harsh world with hungry, cold, and evil-hearted people, I expected a whole lot more death. Let me see. How many people die? There's the little boy. And another person, I believe. The hunter. The prostitute. John Blake. Magda. Some other people. But I thought that there wasn't enough deaths. (Sorry for those sensitive people out there.)

The twist about John Blake. (I have to mention this twice to emphasize on how much I don't like the twist). 

The parts of the book I love...

The dialects. Willo speaks in a way that suggests he hasn't been to a school or learn proper grammar. It makes the story a little more realistic  I would have liked it even more if the author enlisted/created new words because as time goes on, new words are created and old words discarded. I doubt some of the words the author uses will even be said in the future. 

The traitor in the mist... Yeah, traitor. I was delighted when I discovered the new twist. I was so giddy and curious on what will happen to the traitor, the prisoners, and our main character, Willo. Good job, Mr. Crockett (like Davy Crockett?). I totally love that twist. Unlike the one with John Blake (yes, again). The traitor was fascinating. I love how the traitor open himself up, shined a little light into his POV. 

This book's rating is a two out of five. Not enough action to satisfy me. (Got Elvis in my head.)

Hidden By P.C. Cast Review

Hmm... No say about the cover. Just no comment. Noo...

After all those books before Hidden, I was getting bored of this series. I mean, seriously, The House of Night series is just getting way too long. This is like Private by Kate Brian. Just no.

I think books like these (number ten in the series of The House of Night) should have a recap. (TV Talk now) Recaps are nice. They help readers like you and me remember books we read for over a year ago. Really helpful.

In this book, Hidden, P.C. Cast must learn to keep the dead dead. No soul transfers or any of that rubbish. Please, just no rubbish of Heath and all that crazy stuff. All of the main character's boyfriends are always like that. For example, there is the one that died, and another that betrayed Zoey. Please have a normal guy who will not die. (Pretty Please?)

I feel that Hidden is just another book with the same or similar plot. Zoey is happy. The Evil Queen strikes another terror of darkness. Zoey fights back. The queen goes to find sacrifices. Zoey stops the queen. The queen slips away. Zoey is happy again. The queen opens a new reign of terror. Zoey tries to find the way to counter her. Zoey fights against the queen. The queen goes to find more victims to stop Zoey. Zoey stops the queen. And the queen gets away again. The endless cycle of deaths and good versus evil. 

This is getting old. OLD!!

One of the good things about this book is the humor. The humor that is fighting against the darkness of the story is the light of the book. I love the humor, the laughing, the I-need-to-catch-my-breath-or-I-am-going-to-die laughter. 

The writing and poems in this book flows as usual. I hope P.C. Cast would just spice it up. Just a tiny little bit. That would make the book much more interesting. IF SHE DOES THAT FOR THE NEXT BOOK, I WILL READ ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THIS LONG BORING SERIES!!! I promise, I will. Promise.

The switching POVs are refreshing and easy to understand. (The name is there unlike some books). It helps you understand the story. 

This book was a short read. It took me around one and a half hour to read this three hundred or so pages of this book by P.C. Cast.

If you don't want to read the spoilers or haven't read this book yet, SKIP THE SPOILERS SECTION.

Spoilers

1) The Evil Queen tries to kill Grandma.
2) Kalona is having second thoughts about joining light.
3) Heath doesn't die.
4) Lots of cats die.
5) Odd beginning. 
6) Erin goes to the dark side.

End Spoilers

The rating of Hidden is THREE OUT OF FIVE.

The Drowned Cities By Paolo Bacigalupi Review

To tell you the truth, I didn't like The Drowned Cities. I felt that was a little odd and similar to Ship Breaker. If you didn't like the first book in this series, then you won't like this number either. 

I hoped for a better story. I read the first book and found out how dreadful it truly was. I read the second book and I will tell you what I felt about this book.

Before reading: I was admiring the cover. The blue colored cover was just perfect. I enjoyed the colors yellow clashing with the blue. My thoughts: "I want to know about TOOL!"

While reading: I thought how utterly confusing this book was. My thoughts range from "what?" to " huh" to "is this author high?" (sorry but true story) (I think you are high)

After reading: "What? Hey?! Where are my freaking answers and conclusions to this book? OMG!! Not again!"

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the book has a terrible conclusion. These books the first and the second need a epilogue. What is seriously wrong with this author? Freaking!! I am never reading a book from this author again.

While being a book with no epilogue, there are some strengths. (Thank the Lord that there are some good moments and horrible ones too.) The imagery is quite strong in this book. I love the power of words in this book. The graphics of words is just...mind blowing. It just hard to explain. Really hard to explain.

The behaviors of characters were strong too. I really enjoyed the attitudes of the main characters. Especially Tool.

I was so happy when I found out the past of Tool. I feel more sympathetic towards him now. He faced so much to come this far. He is a strong character I admired. He has a strong character and a wise judgement. He never fails to repay a debt. He always remembers. He never forgets.

The other characters were remarkable. I really liked them. It was the conclusion I hated. I hate any books that don't have a conclusion. And has barely any answers. Like this one, right here.

To tell you the truth, I don't really like reviewing books like these, so this will be very short. Books like these are inconclusive and boring.

This book is a two out of five. Don't bother reading it.

The Lost Code By Kevin Emerson

The Lost Code...

The title sounds awesome doesn't it? I love how it sounds--the Lost Code. Just amazing. The book, unlike the title, isn't as favorable.

The people on the cover is most likely the nerd (Owen) and the swimmer (Lilly or Lily). I like the background. The building is just pretty yet also fitting to the story. 

Okay, this story is being told by a NERD. I swear, this guy is just being a supernerd. Reminds me of "THE BIG BANG THEORY." With awesome powers and hot looks. The main character has cute potential according to our female characters. This book has creativity. 

*loud sigh*

This book may had creativity, but there needs to be a tad more passion in their. Yes, it's original and based on something I can't put a finger on, but it was disappointing.

You see I was hoping for something like computers or high-tech gigs or at least something referring to the future. But NOOO, it has to be about FISH. OR GILLS OR FISH OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT. 

*calming down*

Before Reading: I checked out five books from my local library. I checked this one out because it sounded interesting. I thought is would be sci-fi because it just sounds like it. Out of the five books I could've read first, I choose this one. What a horrible and poor choice, but I didn't know.

During reading: I was reading, flipping through the pages. I skim through some pages because I thought they were useless knowledge. I was bored throughout the book. I am not the type to abandon books unless they are really, really bad, but I was tempted many times to abandon this book. I choose not to. 

After reading: After reading this book, I thought it was okay, but then the author could had picked up the pace on this book. But some major things that happen in the book ticked me off.

Argument 1: The author should have explain the terms more clearly and precisely. I was often confused, which brings us to my second argument.

Argument 2: The writing could had done a little more editing. The writing needs to be smoother. As smooth as a plane in geometry. 

Argument 3: The book was long. And boring. The twists were unsatisfying and dry.     

Argument 4: The romance was way too dry. It was boring and boring. I couldn't find the fire between Owen and Lilly. No chemistry or fire under the water. (HA HA)

Argument 5: The characters were too stupid. Owen shouldn't trust that boy who changed sides. I think there is a possibility that a traitor is among them, but I can't be sure.

Argument 6: The writing needs more vocabulary.

I can think of more arguments but I think I'll stop there.

This book is a two out of five.