Seeds of Rebellion (Beyonders #2) by Brandon Mull

Kids, there comes a time in every avid reader's life where you just come to a book that you just can't finish a book. This just happened to me. (And if you got that tv reference, thank you.)
Brandon Mull, what are you doing?? The Fablehaven series was so amazing, but this? This is not amazing.

The first Beyonders wasn't great, but I thought, "Come on, it's Brandon Mull, so it's gotta be good." And it wasn't terrible, per se, but it certainly wasn't Fablehaven. I'm not going to give much description to the first one but here's the low down so you'll understand this review: this kid gets eaten by a hippo and is transported to an alternate world of magic, where he and this girl from Earth have to find the six syllables to this power word to defeat the big bad guy. Now tell me that doesn't sound far-fetched? Critisims aside though, I did enjoy the part with the Word, and it'll always be there in my head. Arimfexendrapus.


So now, onto the Seeds of Rebellion. Whereas book one had a touch of Brandon Mull's writing style in the characters, book two was like he wrote each person and scenario while he was asleep. Jason, the main character, didn't have much of a spark in the first place... I'll stop sugarcoating, he's a wuss. He never had much going for him on Earth, so I don't know why he and Rachel are so keen on going back. A world of magic versus a lonely life getting hit by baseballs. Hmm, decisions...

All of the characters in this kind of pissed me off. They all talked in the exact same way. Like they all had the same thoughts, but the words came out of varied mouths. You have a guy who can deattatch limbs, a charm woman, a half- giant, a blind king, a hermit, and a guy who has a seed in the nape of his neck that can regrow himself if he dies (though Drake's is defective). You'd think that with a variety of characters like that, someone might have a quirk or crack a joke, but noooo, they're too cool for that.

Well, all in all, the book sucked. I hope that was enough explanation as to why, and that you guys will either avoid reading it, or write your own mean reviews. If you want to read good fantasy with a fun flair, read the Fablehaven series, also by Brandon Mull.

Bye!
Julia :)

Slumber by Samantha Young

4.8 stars out of 5

Slumber can be loosely described as Sleeping Beauty with a twist, and I mean it when I say loosely. Princess Hayden is cursed into a deep slumber, on the brink of death. But this tale doesn't revolve around her. No, this is about her "White Knight" as the preview describes", Rogan - Hayden's best friend - who volunteers to go out into the world and find the herb that the princess needs to awaken.

Now from that scenario, what gender do you expect Rogan to be? Am I the only one who thought she was a 'he'?. By the title of "White Knight", I expected Rogan to be a guy. (I mean, the name is pretty gender-neutral). And when the preview talked about the romantic interest as being the "White Knight's White Knight", I thought, "Oh, a gay protagonist? That's new! Should be interes... Ohhh....."
Yeah, not my brightest moment.

Anyways, Rogan is an awesome heroine. In fact, she's probably in the top few of most kick-ass heroines in any book I've read, combating close with Katsa from Graceling. She's stubborn, moral, funny, and poweful, being an Azyl (I'll get to describing those later). She could be a little indecisive at times, but everyone's got flaws, I guess. Rogan was written so well, you could feel the emotional toll that rolled off of her words and actions. This is the kind of character that I strive to write about in my own books, but dang it'd hard to compete with her!

And then there's Wolfe. He is the son of the book's big bad guy, Stovia. But the fruit falls far, far from the tree in this book, as Wolfe is captain of the guard and swears to protect Rogan, whom he has known for years. This guy is an awesome badass. Not like "douchy" badass, but a "get an icy glare from me and you'll want to run away screaming" badass.

The adventure in this book is so appealing, you just want to be there and experience it with the characters. There's light hearted moments, suspenseful drama between friends, and heart-wrenching tragedy. I got so into it, taking in everything. It was just so amazing!!

There's great story-building in this book, with all of the conflicts between the different groups and people with powers. Here's a quick run down: Dravilec - Healers; Dyvatzi - keeps everyone calm (the royal family); Azyl - seekers, can find anything; and Glava - elemental wizards.

I actually had to do a quick search through the internet to recall some minor things in this book, since it's been quite a while since I read it, so pardon if I happen to leave things out. But the characterization and the settings and the drama were so amazing that I could recall those parts very clearly, like they're impacted on my brain. There's just a kind of tingly feeling you get when you finish it, you have to close the covers with a smile. Plus, how awesome is that cover art??

And for anyone who has already read the book and completely agrees with me on how awesome it was, the second book in the series is out! It's from a different character's point of view - El - and the series is called Fade. Check it out!

Well, that's all I have to say for now. Until the next review, bye!
- Julia :)