In My Mailbox [25]

In My Mailbox [25]

hosted by The Story Siren

Two awesome packages arrived for me this week. Yehey!

and inside them are...

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Truth by Julia Karr

What did you get this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Read Because Of Another Blogger

Top Ten Tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Books I Read Because of Another Blogger

    

    

1. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

          - Found this from numerous blogs giving it high ratings; and since Faeries are one of my weaknesses, I just had to read it.

2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

          - I saw it on one of my friends on GoodReads and when I managed to find a copy at a nearby bookstore, I read it greedily.

3. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

          - I first caught sight of it from Kristi of The Story Siren. I fell in love with the entire series since then.

4. XVI by Julia Karr

          - Maria of Bookchilla: Reading is the Ultimate Aphrodisiac and a friend of mine from Goodreads put this on her TBR, and so did I.

5. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

          - I didn't bother to check this book out when I saw tons of copies of it on every bookstore I go to. But entering The Young Adult Book Club and other GoodReads groups that have a ton of girls giggling and ogling over Jace made me want to see what the fuss was all about.

6. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

          - There was a rave about this book all over the net so I decided to check it out too.

7. Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

          - The same with Wicked Lovely, I saw this on Kristi's site. Basically, her blog was the first one I followed so most of the books I started reading were those that I saw there.

8. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

          - It had gone viral... and I got infected.

9. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

          - Definitely eye-catching so I understand why I saw it all over different blogs, sadly it didn't capture my heart.

10. Matched by Ally Condie

          - This had positive feedback from my Goodreads friends so I decided to read it too. I'm still bummed that I didn't feel the same about it as they did.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Sequels I'm Dying to Read

Top Ten Tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Sequels I'm Dying to Read

    

    

1. Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

     - I can't wait to see how the Nightshade series ends!

2. Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

     - I loved the first book, Austenland; and I love Shannon Hale so, yeah I can't wait to get to read this.

3. Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel

     - I felt sad about how Infinite Days ended so I really want to see how it would continue with this second installment.

4. Eona by Alison Goodman

     - I devoured Eon so of course I'm eager to read Eona. I'm just waiting for the paperback to be released since I bought the paperback copy of Eon. I want my books to match.

5. Fever by Lauren DeStefano

     - I'm eager to see the continuation of Rhine's story.

6. Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

     - Not loving the cover but I totally dig this series.

7. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

     - Major cliff-hanger on Unearthly! I badly want to know the answers to all the questions piled in at the ending of the first book.

8. Truth by Julia Karr

     - Now that Nina's marked with the XVI tattoo, she's in for more challenges than she has already faced. Can't wait for that!

9. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

     - Something tells me I'm in for more adventure.

10. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

     - Yes, this has been on my previous top ten but I really am eager to read this. I get so giddy thinking about it! 

XVI by Julia Karr

        

XVI
(XVI #1)
by Julia Karr

Summary from Goodreads:

"Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. 

But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world-even the most predatory of men-that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear. 

That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past-one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer."

Rating:

Wow! Definitely a book worth reading.

When I first heard of XVI I was a little skeptical about it. Being the fantasy junkie and my rave for action-packed books, I thought that this just wasn’t a book I see myself reading. But when I saw this on the shelf of a bookstore I was visiting, I felt the urge to give it a shot… and thank goodness I did!

My impression of XVI was that it would be all about sex and all things slutty, little did I know that this simple dystopian novel was actually a book that not only was about rebellion against a dictatorial government and media manipulation, but also about fighting against the growing business of teen sex trafficking.

I have to admit though; there are things that bothered me. I feel that this book lacked the explanations about how Nina’s world was, for instance, it kept mentioning “trannies” and numbers like “33” that they’re waiting for, it took me a few seconds and rereading of the certain part to realize that those were their means of transportation. I also didn’t understand the tier-based life they have. I get that the lower the number the lower their tier and lifestyle would be but how exactly did the government start that and what’s the basis of it all?

I also question their way of expressing rebellion against the government and the media. It’s said that everywhere they went there would be surveillance and their conversations where recorded all the time. But most of the time, they get to find a Dead Zone where their conversations cannot be heard or they have rare devices that can alter or disrupt the surveillance and they pretty much talk a lot about their grudges against the government. Add the fact that Sal, Nina’s love interest, admitted he was a Non-Con to all their friends and none of them seemed surprised or afraid, considering that the government was supposedly over-controlling.

Anyway, you’re probably wondering: if I liked this book how come I’m lashing out on it? Well, I’m not. I just did notice flaws but that didn’t mean I didn’t like it so I will explain why.

What got me to like this book was the strong sense of it being close to real life. It showed us the issues of the corruption of government, the unavoidable growing world of sex trafficking, the struggle for a better life, and a lot more.

I also admire Nina. Despite getting all confused with what her personality truly is, I totally empathize with her. I get her confusion, fear, and her wanting to be the one to control when she’s ready to get intimate with a guy and not be a walking object men can claim to take pleasure on anywhere, anytime.

Another thing I liked was Nina and Sal’s relationship. Yes, it’s a little shallow and I kind of didn’t get how they fell in love with each other, but I like them together. I like that Nina’s all too steadily and hidden emotions pore out whenever she’s with Sal, and that Sal has become her shoulder to cry on and that certain someone who stood by and supported her whenever she felt like giving up.

This book may’ve not been perfect, but regardless, it was beautiful and I definitely got my money’s worth.

In My Mailbox [2]

IN MY MAILBOX [2]

hosted by The Story Siren

Forgive my absence from last week's IMM. I've been busy with a lot of things that I wasn't able to grab anything new from the bookstore. So anyway, here's what I got this week. I didn't get much since I haven't finished my last pile of books 2 weeks ago. 

Winter's Child: A Retelling of "The Snow Queen" by Cameron Dokey

XVI by Julia Karr

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner

So what did you guys get this week? ^_^