Title: New Beginnings

Author: Victoria Schwab

Series: Everyday Angel, #1

Publisher: Scholastic

Imprint: Scholastic Paperbacks

Publication date: May 27th, 2014

My rating: 4 of 5

(Book read from May 24th to May 26th, 2014,  from an eARC received from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange of an honest review.) 

   

Summary:

Meet a guardian angel like no other, from a writer like no other. Bold rising star, Victoria Schwab, makes her whimsical, inspiring, and clever middle-grade debut.
   
At a first glance, Aria seems like your average twelve-year-old girl. She has coppery hair, colored shoelaces, and a passion for cupcakes. But there's more to Aria than meets the eye. She can dream things into existence, use her own shadow like a door, and change the world in small, important ways. Aria is a guardian angel. She's been sent here to earn her wings. But to do that, she'll have to help three different girls.
  
Aria's first mission is Gabby Torres. Gabby's always been quiet, but ever since her brother got sick, she's barely said a word.When a new school offers her a fresh start, Gabby wants badly to be someone new, but she quickly learns it's hard to make friends while keeping half her life a secret.
  
And then Aria shows up. Aria, who knows exactly what to say and do to make Gabby feel better. Will she be able to help Gabby find her voice? And will Gabby still trust Aria when she finds out exactly what she is?
  
Think John Green for middle grade, with a touch of magic!

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

New Beginnings is a wonderful MG novel full of heart & soul, magic, fun, friendship & heartbreak.

Once again, Victoria Schwab has done it again. I always admire at the different type of stories she can write. They feel so magical, yet so simple at first glance, but actually are more complicated, and they make you feel quite a lot, and make you think.

New Beginnings is another read like that. It was sweet, entertaining, yet so sad, but also full of hope, and I loved it! I must admit that I cried quite a lot in this book, yet I was left feeling quite hopeful & happy in the end, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next book in the series Second Chances.

 

Even though I loved the story, I won't go into details so I would not spoil it, but what I want to talk about a little are the characters. They were all well-developed, and really likable. Gabby is feeling a little lost right now with everything happening in her life, and feels invisible, though she doesn't want to be in the spotlight, just seen, and doesn't really know who she is anymore. As the main character, she was the most developed, and quite likable, and I loved the way through her eyes a few of the other characters were developed, and I don't think any reader will be able to stop themselves from connecting & caring for them all. New Beginnings is actually told from two PoVs, and the 2nd one is Aria. Aria is a new angel, and I loved along with her learning & discovering what she can do, and how she can help, and just founding herself as well. I can't wait to follow her on her next adventures in the following books. She's fun & quirky, and curious, and so sweet, and I loved her. As I said, there are a few other characters, and there's one I really want to mention, but I won't, because even the thought of that character makes me teary-eyed, though I loved that character, and even though it's heartbreaking, yet it felt so right, though so sad, as well. I can probably go on & on, but I'll stop myself right now. 

It's actually funny how such a shorter book can cause so many feelings, but Victoria Schwab is a wonderful author, that writes some of the most imaginative & unique stories, so if you still haven't tried her books, I highly recommend them!

 

 

 

Challenges:

2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge

Clean Sweep ARC Challenge May 2014

Title: Vicious

 

Author: V. E. Schwab

 

 

My rating: 5 of 5

  

(Book read from December 5th to December 19th, 2013, for a read-along.)

 

Summary:

 

A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world.

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates — brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find — aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge — but who will be left alive at the end?

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

 

I've loved everything Victoria Schwab has written so far, and her latest novel isn't exception. Actually, Vicious is her best one, and I know I won't do it justice with this review, but I'll try.

I loved, loved the story. From the way it was told (going back & forth through the far past, the near past & the present), to the story itself & the idea behind it, I just adored everything about it, to the wonderful & complex characters (that you won't be able to stop yourself, but care for), and their different background stories, just everything was woven perfectly in one amazing & addicting tale, that will keep you glued to the pages to see how exactly it will play out, yet at the same time you wouldn't want for it to end. At least, that's what I felt while reading this book, and I really, really hope there will be a sequel, because I want more.

As I said, all the characters were so complex, there just aren't good or bad characters, heroes or villains, so you'll have to decide for yourself who you'll root for in this tale of betrayal, heartbreak & revenge. I was just so captivated by the characters & the story & the suspense of it. Victoria Schwab is one brilliant author that has written one unique & wonderful & brilliant novel, that I know I'll love reading again & again. The moment I finished it, I wanted to start it again. So, yeah, I can't wait to see what she comes up with next, because her imagination & stories are so different & unique, and she's such an eclectic author with one of the most amazing writing styles, and she never stops to surprise me :)

I can't recommend this book enough. It's dark & twisted & fun & wonderful & heartbreaking & amazing & villainous & suspenseful & addicting & unforgettable, everything I would wish for in a book, so if there's one 2013 book you must read, that's Vicious.

 

Challenges:

2013 Read-along Challenge

Title: The Archived

Author: Victoria Schwab

 

Series: The Archived, #1

 

My rating: 4.5 of 5

(Book read from March 06-25  for a read-along)

Summary:

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous — it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

Victoria Schwab has done it again! I loved her debut novel The Near Witch, as well as the prequel novella The Ash-Born Boy, so I've been looking forward to The Archived ever since it was announced. So, was it everything I expected it to be? Yes & no! I expected for it to be interesting & imaginative & really good novel, but the author actually managed to surprise me! 

I have to admit that at first it took me a while to get into it. I guess I was a little bit confused. What I was confused about, you might ask? Well, Mac inherited her job as a Keeper from her Da, so from the description I got the notion about who that is, but soon realised I might be wrong, so I was confused, but after I realised who Da actually was, all the confusion was gone. After that it was a smooth ride, I got wrapped up in the story, and it wasn't easy to stop reading it until it was time for the next part, which I did because I was reading it for a read-along. 

Anyway, let's start with the writing style. Victoria Schwab really has a way with words, slowly she will put a spell on you, and suck you into her world, and before you know it, you're hooked, and you'll be dying to get more of that world - at least that's what happened to me. I guess I kinda didn't expect that after I started reading it, because I couldn't get into it at first, so that was a pleasant surprise. And the world-building was done great, and the world itself was really imaginative & interesting, & in the end I absolutely loved it! Everything we learned about the Archive & everyone that works there, as well as the Histories was such a surprise & quite unexpected, but brilliant, so as I said I absolutely loved it, and can't wait to read more books about it! 

As for the story itself, it was great, a little bit heart-breaking, but also fun & with a presence of mystery woven through the whole novel! It will just keep you guessing, and I have to admit although there are some things I was right about, I didn't know why the character(s) did what he/she did & in the end I was surprised by quite a lot of things in this book, and that's something that rarely happens to me, but Victoria Schwab has done that beautifully! And that only made me love the book more, and made me eager for the next book in the series. 

As for the characters, they were all really likable & fun. I liked a lot Mac as a character, & I absolutely loved Wesley & Roland - these 3 were definitely my favs. I think I might have to stop here, because anything more would spoil the story. But, was there anything I didn't like? Yeah, there was one storyline I wasn't a fan of, I didn't dislike it, but for a moment I thought this will be another same YA, and I thought I won't love this book as much as I did, but I got definitely blind-sided with that, and didn't realise how crucial this will be for the story itself, and how different this book will end up being, although after that I knew I should've expected more from this author, although I'm not sure if I would've seen it coming. 

So, if you love books that have unique setting & imaginative world, with stories that will both make you laugh & cry, yet sit at the edge of the sit in suspense wondering what will happen next, and that has a good mystery with lots of twists & turns & great characters, then this is a book for you & I highly recommend it! As for me, The Archived is definitely one of my favs now, and I know I will love re-reading this book, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series, as well as anything more Victoria Schwab writes, because she definitely joined my list of fav authors now!

 

Challenges:

2013 Read-along Challenge