A Voice in the Distance by Tabitha Suzuma

"It seems so stupid, to finally find someone who you really care about, only to let them go."

                                                         —A Voice in the Distance by Tabitha Suzuma

 

Title: A Voice in the Distance

Author: Tabitha Suzuma

Page Count: 256 (Paperback)

Synopsis:

Every thought hurts like hell. Everything you see is awful, twisted, pointless. And the worst—the worst of it is yourself.

Star pianist Flynn Laukonen has the world at his feet. He has moved in with his girlfriend Jennah and is already getting concert bookings for what promises to be a glittering career. Yet he knows he is skating on thin ice—only two small pills a day keep him plunging back into the whirlpool of manic depression that once threatened to destroy him.

Suddenly Flynn finds himself in hospital, carnage left behind him. The medication isn't working any more and depression strikes again, this time with horrific consequences. It seems like he has to make a choice between the medication and his career. But in all this he has forgotten the one person he would give his life for, and Flynn suddenly finds himself facing the biggest sacrifice of all.

Thoughts:

I saw this at Booksale and was thrilled to get my hands on another book by Tabitha Suzuma (the author of Forbidden) and I read it as soon as I had the luxury of free time.

I am very much in-love with the characters especially with Flynn. I adore that he is driven but willing and Jennah compassionate but ardent. I like the story and how it is smoothly told. Every piece of the story just falls into place gracefully—like Flynn's fingers fleeting across the piano keys. I can even hear the music as I read. I felt the connection, grasped every emotion and hang I did to every word. It made me smile, roll, laugh, kick, frustrated, hopeful, teary, mad, excited and, of course, kilig. I can't put the book down and I refused to sleep until I finished it. Although I found myself unable to sleep even after. I wonder where I would be now had i pursued music myself.

I love the book a lot that it ached when I reached the last page. I flipped the last page and flipped it back again checking if the page numbers are right. That is just how I wanted  more, more, more, MORE! sigh I even wish someone would tell me that my copy is just one bloody chapter short! Even a missing page would do, I could cry! It is so beautiful my heart is in fragments.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

"No matter how tough you think you are, there are certain things that just get to you, and they're usually the little things. The ones you don't expect."

—Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Book Title: Dorothy Must Die

Author: Danielle Paige

Page Count: 480 (Paperback)

Synopsis:

I DIDN'T ASK FOR ANY OF THIS.

I DIDN'T ASK TO BE SOME KIND OF A HERO. 

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know?y

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. But I never expected Oz to look like this. A place where Good Witches can't be trusted and Wicked Witches may just be the good guys.

A place where even the yellow brick road is crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

My name is Amy Gumm—and I'm the other girl from Kansas.

I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, and I've been given a mission:

REMOVE
THE TIN WOODMAN'S HEART,

STEAL
 THE SCARECROW'S BRAIN,

TAKE
THE LION'S COURAGE,

AND THEN—
DOROTHY MUST DIE. 

Thoughts:

I wanted to read this book since last year. It caught my attention since it is a spin-off of a famous classic book I've read in my childhood. I received a copy as a gift and I read it right away.

The book synopsis is very inviting. It made me go back to the store shelves just to re-read it again a couple of times. After reading the book, I think the summary was meant for the entire series and not just for this one. It left me wishing that something more happened before this book ended or that I already have the second book, at least. I guess I expected more from a book that has more than 400 pages.

The plot is very creative—I love the awesomesauce idea—and the changes in the characters should have been great if not for how some of the major ones act. I am not sure why but it appears to me as a bit exaggerated, some even unnecessary and it really bothered me as I read on. I was mystified with Pete but bummer how it was only revealed like that by the end of the book. It was not the revelation itself (especially if you have read the original classic series, it wouldn't come as a surprise anymore) but the manner. It opened to more whys, though, and I guess that is good. The love story felt squeezed for me and I found myself more interested with Ozma and Glamora than Amy. There was also something about the setting that seems off.

More importantly, however, I felt that the book could be better without the offensive words, especially, because it targets young adult readers the most.

All in all it is an okay book. Sadly, it was not as gripping as I had expected it to be. sigh The pacing was slow and when I thought it's getting exciting, it will halt and drag again. But I still hope it gets better.

The Seance by Joan Lowery Nixon

"Crying is a luxury, and I take my luxuries in private by myself. There are two ways of crying—on the outside and on the inside—and I've been crying on the inside most of my life."

      —The Séance by Joan Lowery Nixon   

 

Title: The Séance

Author:  Joan Lowery Nixon

Page Count: 224 (Paperback)

Synopsis:

A séance leads to murder!

Lauren had nothing to do with the séance. In the dark, she senses the presence of evil. And when the lights come on, her fear turns to shock: Her friend Sara is missing, even though all the doors and windows are locked . . . from the inside.

Sara's body is found in the swamp next morning, but that's not the end of the nightmare. When a second girl from the séance is murdered, Lauren realizes she must figure out what's happening—or she may end up the next victim.

Thoughts:

*Sigh* I expected a lot of thrilling action from this book. I was really excited when I read the synopsis but the story ended too quickly. The author could have done more for this book. I wish there was an elaborate background story about the killer—a better psychological twist, perhaps? Further sprinkles of the paranormal here and there wouldn't hurt either.