Review: Phase by E.C. Newman

Synopsis:

Sophie Todd hoped that her senior year would be different. Unfortunately, different seems to mean getting punched in the face for sticking up for the new girl, having her offer of friendship spurned by said new girl, and finally gaining the attention of her long-time crush, Ezra Varden, but for all the wrong reasons.

It's a tenuous friendship at best, but as Juliet starts to open up to Sophie, they both realize that the Vardens, Juliet's foster family, is not your average family. They're extremely close-knit—freakishly so—but they welcomed a complete stranger into their home, which just so happens to have the largest meat freezer anyone's ever seen...

...and certainly no one said anything about Ezra and the wolves.

Review by Rachel: Rating- 4.5
E.C. Newman gave me the perfect book. I have been searching for a good YA romance shifter-wolf novel for a while and this one was everything I wanted! The novel started off with a Ka-Pow... quite literally.

Phase was balanced well between the love interest, the friend, and family. Sophie was such a normal teenage girl, I adored her and how relatable she was and I enjoyed the silliness of her inner monologue. She was always true to herself and stayed a good girl throughout the novel.
Jules is the bad girl who gets in trouble more often than not. She's so funny thinking the Varnon's are a cult and how most of her ideas tend to have Sophie doing something she never would. She's so loyal, I want Jules as a best friend!

I wish we had more of Gil and his band and I really wish we had more of Ezra and Sophie together. There was just so much freaking action! I'm not even kidding, my heart was pounding and I was sweating right along with these characters. It was intense.

The moment I closed this book and went to Goodreads to look for book two because it said it was a trilogy, I was more than disappointed. Book two and three are not out yet. I'm slightly upset by this. This book was published in 2012. It's been two years! I know it takes time to write a novel, but at this point we should have some information about the next book, but there isn't anything. It's disappointing because by the time the next book in the series comes out I probably wont be into the same books I am now, I'll be at a different point in my life and I most likely wont want to read it. This has happened before when authors take too long to get a book out in the series. So, you can consider this a 5 star review because the book was fantastic, but I'm giving it a 4.5 because it did leave so much unanswered and I'm afraid the author is going to take way too long to write the next book. If it comes out soon then I'll change the rating for this.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan

Synopsis:

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

Review by Patrick:

Will Grayson, Will Garyson was probably one of the most unique books I have read. I enjoy John Green immensely (so much so that I call myself a Nerdfighter and watch his YouTube channel Vlogbrothers). This led me to want to read all of his works, and as this is one of them, I picked it up to read. I also have heard good things about David Levithan, and several of his books are on my "To-Read" list as well. So, this seemed like the perfect book for me to read to allow me to further the goal of reading all of John Green's works and introducing me to David Levithan.

Unless I am mistaken, this book was written by both writers in an oscillating format. I believe one wrote one chapter, then the other wrote the second, then the first wrote the third, and so forth. This is by no means the only book written this way, but it may be the first I've ever read, and it was interesting. It was neat to see two different stories that also intertwined together. I know most books have more than one story, or the story is about more than one character that inevitably interacts, but this was different. It really was about two different stories.

I liked the book. It was very engaging, and I wanted to keep reading it. Even though there was a significant portion of the book relating to gay sexual preference (full disclosure: I'm not even a little bit gay), it wasn't weird or sexual. It was... normal. Which I guess was kind of the point: to show that teens who are gay are not weird or different or... weird. They are just teens, trying to make it through high school, alive, and understanding themselves and their relationships.

Although I did like the book, it was not what I would typically read (although, spoiler alert, it was nice to read a book where no one dies for a change). It's pace was good as it kept me wanting to drive somewhere to finish the book. The ending chapters were fantastic. But all the same, I'm going to rate this book a 3.5. Maybe it deserves a higher rating for many readers, and I'm glad I read it, but not my cuppa tea.

Up Next:

Moby Dick and Dracula.

Sphere by Michael Crichton

Synopsis:

In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a huge vessel is discovered resting on the ocean floor. It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least three hundred years old. 

But even more fantastic—and frightening—is what waits inside . . .

Review by Patrick:

Okay, so this turned from my read-before-bedtime book to my stay-up-all-night-and-wake-up-early-to-finish book.

I really like other books from Michael Crichton, and this one turned out no different. I like that his books have enough facts and pseudo-science that you think it might have actually happened. And with this particular book, there's no way to prove that it didn't happen.

I wasn't expecting this book to be quite as psychological as it was. But it turned out that the main character was psychologist and the whole premise of the book is psychological. That really threw me for a twist when I was expecting some kind of alien book. But in some ways, it was necessary. This book wouldn't have been anything without the psychological perspective.

I like the book. I would recommend many people to read it. This one will stretch your imagination and mind, and give you a little bit of thrill and mystery. This book is worth reading. I rate it a 4.

Up Next:

Moby Dick, or The Whale.