Gone

Summary: Gone. Everyone except for the young. Teens. Middle Schoolers. Toddlers. But not a single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Gone, too, are the phones, internet, and television. There is no way to get help.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.

It’s a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen and war is imminent.

Review: I couldn’t put it down. Gone was creepy, scary, and filled to the brim with raw emotions. Grant sugarcoats nothing. He puts these children in this situation and has them respond accordingly, there is no delusions of everyone coming together and living happily ever after. In fact, most kids don’t even want to come together. All they want are their parents. It is like a modern day Lord of the Flies with some sci-fi thrown in just for kicks.

Sam is an easily relatable character. He becomes the leader and hero of the people, even though he wants nothing more than to just disappear. You will be rooting for him the entire way. And what would the story be without the charismatic villain and his sicko sidekick to hate? Drake Merwin is truly disturbing, but Caine (Ironically Caine and Abel huh? You will have to read the book to get why this is so true for Caine) is charismatic and believable, you know there is something just wrong with him, but can’t quite put your finger on it.

To put it simply: Gone is amazing. You will be flipping pages as quickly as you can to see what happens to all the characters you have become so attached to. You’ll desperately try to figure out how they will survive.
Just go read it. It is not only a great piece of fiction, but also a moving tale on human, and kid, nature.

Rating: 5/5

Reviews from the Pros:

“Intense, marvelously plotted. A tour de force.”-ALA Booklist (starred review)

“If Stephen King had written Lord of the Flies, it might have been a little like this.”-VOYA (starred review)

Destiny's Path

Summary: Branwen refuses to take orders from anyone—even the Shining Ones, the ancient gods whose power is feared throughout the land. They want her as their Chosen One, destined to save her country from the Saxon’s. But Branwen doubts she’s truly ready to be a leader.

Then a messenger from the skies shows her a vision of a bleak and violent future—a future in which Branwen has abandoned her destiny, and those most dear to her suffer unspeakable horrors. There’s a blurry line between good and evil, and those Branwen trusts the most are capable of the greatest betrayal. The Shining Ones have spoken. Will Branwen answer their calls?

Summary: I think this was a significant improvement upon Warrior Princess. It might have been that I am now used to Jones’s writing style, or that I am more acquainted with the characters, but I connected a lot more with Branwen in this adventure than the previous one. I understood her character and the adventures were thrilling. They were not so gripping that I was glued to the book.

As with the previous one, I flipped ahead to read what would happen. It was enjoyable and the characters were more easily relatable all around. It has the makings of a great heroic war story. The kind of tale that bards sing of. (The graphic description of the battle were albeit disgusting, very welcomed as realistic). One thing Jones does seem to excel at is ending the book so that you can’t wait to get your hands on the next one.

Rating: 4.3/5 It was a significant improvement upon the first.

Reviews from the Pros:

“Despite graphic depictions of battle scenes, Branwen’s compelling story leaves readers waiting for the sequel.”-Booklist

Happy Reading!
-She Who Reads A Lot