0.4 by Mike Lancaster

The book cover - image from google

0.4 is the story of Kyle Straker, a 15 year old voice recorder onto tapes and transformed into a book. Nobody knows if this is a hoax or if it is real. But this is his version of the events of the early 21st Century.

I love the cover of the book. It's pretty awesome and makes you think about what weirdness could possibly be in this book. So, just by looking at it you can tell that it's a sci-fi. Futuristic in some ways and completely normal to the point of mundane in others. It has everything to do with technology. It's so sci-fi, I wasn't quite sure how to react when I finished the book. I think my thoughts were: "Well, that's odd, and also pretty cool". one thing I can say for sure is that it has some great ideas and leaves you thinking about reality.

Reality itself is a huge theme here. And I thought the book was a bit short actually, because it didn't explore reality in the way I would have liked. Sure, it was action-packed, but I wanted more background and insight.

It's an easy read, and very interesting (I read it in a few hours). But I don't think it's for everyone. Basically if you're not a fan of dystopias, weird goings-on, mysteries or classic science fiction, don't read it. If you're in it for a story that is different, interesting, and plot-driven it's for you. A good thing is that it can be read by either gender, as long as they like the premise.

Unfortunately I didn't really feel much for the characters. I understood Kyle, but wasn't really overly empathetic towards him. I think perhaps the author could have described his feelings a bit more. It was probably more aimed at a teen audience though, so I'm not really the target audience.
However, I think teens would love this, I think especially boys who like sci-fi and gadgets.

For me, this book gets 2/5 stars. While it was a good idea, and I loved the premise, I don't think it was executed quite right for me. I didn't feel much fro the characters and it was on the young side.

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There is a sequel already out, called 1.4, which tells you about the aftermath of 0.4.
0.4 /Human4 on Goodreads.com.

Wither and Fever by Lauren Destefano

Destefano conjours a world where a disease has made it so that men die aged 25 an women die aged 20. So for 16-year-old Rhine Ellory, there isn't too much time left.
Rhine has been captured by gatherers and is sold on as a bride to House Governor Linden. All she wants to do now is escape back to the life she came from, escaping this life of luxury that others can only dream of. But she has reason to. She left someone behind.

Wither and Fever are both wonderful. Full of beautiful imagery and dangerous thoughts. Sometimes they moved at a slow pace, but this didn't mean they weren't riddled with suspense and danger.
The themes are all the usual - love, life, loss, friendship in unlikely places. But it includes other, more adult themes like hardship, trust, family life and relationships, polygamy and death. It leaved you thinking about it afterwards (always a sign of a good book).

But a major theme is time. It's at the very heart of the books. There's always a sense of urgency, even when things are slow-moving. In fact, it's even worse when the narrative is slow-moving. The imagery and descriptions are stunning. I can easily imagine the places described, whether it be luxury or disease-ridden. They flourished inside my head.

I guess this is a modern, younger version of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. (Which I have read). It has some similar themes, and some not quite so similar. I'll let you decide really.

I loved Rhine, but did think at times she was a bit silly. Some things weren't as obvious to her as I thought they should have been. But she never failed me with her bravery. The character is generally wonderful, and her voice shines through. I also very much liked Gabriel. His apparent meekness reminded me quite a lot of Peeta from 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins (which I will review eventually). You could tell he had inner strength and a rebellious side, just like Peeta. Now, Peeta is one of my two favourite characters from The Hunger Games. So this must be very good.
If you like The Hunger Games, you may well like this too.

Now, I've read other reviews with people hating this book. and this is because of the premise. The whole 'girls being sold as wives to procreate' thing. But I honestly don't see the problem. Sure, the world is a little flimsy, but the actual story is good.I think nit-picking will only make you think about what's wrong with the ideas and not what it's really about, which are the themes.

All I can say really is that they were bothy thrilling, suspenseful, romantic at times and made you really think about the concepts in the book - such as death and time, and what you would have done in their situation.
I think that this dystopian is a great book for teens, young adults and adults alike, and I'm giving it 4.5/5 stars.

The final book, Sever will be out in 2013. And I'm looking forward to it.
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Lauren Destefano's Page.
Wither on Goodreads.com- other reviews.

Day 2- A Quote From my Favourite Book.

The whole Inkheart trilogy is littered with beautiful writing, and choosing just one quote is difficult.
It's especially difficult because I haven't read them in a while.

However, I'll give it a go.

This is a beautiful quote from it. it's very descriptive. and that's exactly what I like.

"They had gone. Had left him alone with all the blue, that clashed with the red of the fire. Blue as the evening sky, blue as cranesbill flowers, blue as the lips of drowned men and the heart of a blaze burning with too hot a flame. Yes, sometimes it was hot in this world, too. Hot and cold, light and dark, terrible and beautiful, it was everything all at once. It wasn't true that you felt nothing in the land of Death. You felt and heard and smelled and saw, but your heart remained strangely calm, as if it were resting before hte dance began again.
Peace. Was that the word?"

Day 1- My Favorite Book

Inkheart Film Poster (from IMDB)

Well, I have many books that I love.
But if I had to choose it would be Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke.

Inkdeath is the third book in the Inkworld Trilogy (Started by Inkheart, then Inkspell, and finally Inkdeath) by German writer Cornelia Funke (who also wrote The Thief Lord, which was also made into a film, and Reckless, the newest of her books and Reviewed HERE). They are really childrens or early teens books, but I love them.

And the reason Why is this:
Cornelia Funke writes in such a wonderful way. There are beautiful descrptions of magical worlds, people and creatures and basically, it's a situation I would love to find myself in.

As an avid book fan, Inkheart opened up an adventure that to me seemed infinitely possible. Characters coming out of a book seemed like on of the best things in the world. I think it did help that I read it when I was quite a lot younger, because there was still a magical wuality about this world, and the child's idea that anything can happen. I hope I haven't lost that really.

The whole series is wonderful, and I would encourage everyone to read it, no matter how old you are. I almost guarantee that you'll love it.
And, the books have some lovely covers.

You can read about the series on Cornelia Funke's website
or, by Visiting Wikipedia
or, if you don't trust my view on the subject, have a look at other reviews on Goodreads.

Inkdeath cover - from Wikipedia.

A little Update - The 15 Day Book Challenge

Right now I have an absolutely unruly amount of books to read, all stacked up in a pile in my cupboard. Most have been reccommended to me by my sister or reviews from other bloggers. Or.. just because I wanted to read it.

As I'm currently working my way through the Hitchhikers Guide Trilogy of Five by Douglas Adams(and it might take a little bit, although I am on the last book), I'm going to do a book challenge I found on the internet. So over the next fifteen posts, I will be writing all about books.
Also, don't worry. More reviews WILL be coming soon. Well, as soon as I've finished a new book.

The 15 Day Book Challenge

Day 1- Your favorite book and why
Day 2- A quote from said book
Day 3- Your favorite author and favorite book by them
Day 4- Your favorite book from your childhood
Day 5- Guilty pleasure book
Day 6- If you were stranded on a desert island, what book would you want?
Day 7- Favorite movie adaptation of a book
Day 8- Favorite quote from any book
Day 9- What are you currently reading?
Day 10- Write a review of the last book you read
Day 11- Favorite book you had to read for school
Day 12- Favorite classic
Day 13- Favorite poet
Day 14- Post your favorite poem
Day 15- Recommend 5 books

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Image from google

This book is always recommended. I swear anyone who has ever read it would urge others to give it a go. So after people and websites galore told me to read it, and after it being on my to-read list for an age, I finally have.

Hitchhikers Guide is every bit as awe-inspiring as I expected it to be. It twists your mind every which way possible, into a mass of awesomeness, and breaks the boundaries of thinking in a way that is only comparable to one other literary piece: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
That's right, I just compared something to Lewis Carroll. And it's so very true.

Unfortunately, I was silly, and saw the 2005 film first. Although the film has an exceptionally star-studded and pretty darn amazing cast, it just doesn't live up the the genius of the book. This also meant that I already knew some big things that were revealed in the book, but I did appreciate how Adams very subtly weaves the story.

It also had a side-effect of reading anything that Marvin the robot said in Alan Rickman's voice. This, however, is not such a bad thing, as if anything it made for even more amusing reading.
A general side effect of the book was that every time I read it I wanted Tea.

The characters are very well developed for such a small book, and even some smaller parts had personalities that you could easily identify. Ford in particular has a very good personality - I do love the fact that he just can't help himself from being curious. I also have a sneaking suspicion that underneath the egotistical exterior Zaphod has a lot more to offer.

Book Cover from Wikipedia

As there's literally nothing I can fault it on, I'll tell you about things I loved. one thing I particularly enjoyed about this book was the side notes on things in the Universe and beyond, and how everything he says is either amusing, or ties in with the story at some point. Or both.

In fact, I'm sure that some minor references in this book will turn out to be the crux of the whole plot in another. In that way I wish I hadn't seen the film - I would have been even more in awe. I would probably have never seen anything coming.
Luckily, there's four more books to read.

So the main themes: Life, the Universe, and Everything. That pretty much sums up the whole book, don't you think?
All in all it's witty, with laugh out loud moments, whilst contemplating life as we know it. I'd call that Genius.

Definitely 5/5 stars.

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

This was a book that I saw on Amazon and was interested in, but it wasn't until my sister lent me the book (with not overly sparkling reviews) that I managed to read it.

Bumped is set in the 2030s, after a virus has 'swept the world', making everyone over 18 infertile. This has lead to the use of surrogates (both professional and amateur). Melody is one of these surrogates. She's worth more as a surrogate because genetically she's practically perfect. But before she can do the deed her religious twin sister Harmony turns up on her doorstep to spread the word of God.

The characters were interesting, and the choices they make, and what they go through and have gone through are a good subject for a book. However, I found both Melody and Harmony to be annoying at various points throughout the book. It was mainly their use of language, and the way they would get overemotional at some things, but not emotional enough at others. In that way I guess they weren't a very realistic representation of the girls in society today.

Picture from Google

The fact that the were twins was also interesting, and the whole plot surrounded it. Only one problem, first they were very distant with each other, as you might expect when you find your long lost sister, but at the end they had a link that was really unrealistic.
Speaking as a twin myself, I hated it. We twins don't have a random connection, we're just like any other sisters, only closer (sometimes). Although there wasn't any ridiculous psychic abilities, it still annoyed me.
However, I loved Zen as a character. He's well rounded and normal, which is more than I can say for the rest of them.

Some of the language was good, but there were parts that also really annoyed me. here are some examples:
'pregging', 'negging', 'bumping', 'for serious'. These I can just about understand. i know what they mean and there will be some slang in the future. But what the hell is 'renegging', 'thumped' and 'PTL!'? Which reminds me, there are also far too many exclamation marks, and sexual music excerpts.

If you can get past these things though, it's actually not a bad book. It deals with very important issues, that we all face and that we all understand.
 Bumped deals with a lot of issues and themes, which I really like, such as religion, teen pregnancy, surrogacy, sex in general, advancement, cultural values, perfectionism and choices. This does redeem it, as it does make you think (something I love in a book).

Overall, a good book, but with some really annoying habits. Awarded 3 out of 5 stars.