Mundie Moms

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Book Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver *spoiler free review*


Published by: Harper Teen
To Be Released on: February 28th, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher to review
5 stars: I Loved It!
Pre-order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Series: Book #2 in the Delirium Trilogy

I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame. -quoted from Goodreads

Wow! I'm seriously at a loss for words on how to describe Pandemonium in three words or less and all I can come up with is WOW. This sequel is awesome! Lauren's writing never ceases to amaze me, and she really blew me away with what she does in Pandemonium. Similar to what she does in Delirium, she goes against the norm and what I expected and pulls me into an ever more surprising world. Pandemonium introduces readers to new emotions, a slightly different world, new characters, a stronger Lena who's defiance and inner strength blew me away, and well balanced look at what shaped Lena into the person she becomes in this absolutely brilliant sequel!

Lena herself really surprised me in this sequel and I have to say this girl has courage and a will to survive that shocked me. I loved the way Lauren allowed me as a reader to see why she changed so much. It's not just her grieving heart for Alex that changed her, but the world she's now apart of. An equally dangerous place where your former self can't exist. I completely understood the anger, hate, courage, drive and defiance that replaces her more former innocent self. Together these things drive Lena to action and to do the things she does in this book. I felt like I was able to understand the emotions Lena felt through out the course of her story, and they're definitely justified by what she deals with.

I loved the unique way in which Lauren tells this story. Each chapter alternates from "Then" or from "Now", which allows Lauren to take readers further into her well structured, fast plowing story line. In doing so, readers get to see how "the Wild" and now Lena's new society have shaped her. This worked perfect for this story, and I didn't find it confusing at all. Seriously, this story line was nothing at all what I was excepting it to be. Once I started this book I couldn't put it down. Lauren Oliver's writing in this series has really blown me away. She strips you of everything you knew from Delirium and throws you into a whole new world with even greater danger, a bit more action, romance, twists and a book that's filled with defiance, change and some surprising secrets.

If you loved Delirium wait till you pick up Pandemonium. This title lives up to it's name in this book, and the things that happen will shock you! I loved the new characters that Lauren introduces into the story series and the turn of events that happen. For the sake of no spoilers I'm not going to mention of any of them, because some things will seriously surprise you! I won't even mention that killer of a cliff hanger. Requiem's release date can't get her fast enough! I have a feeling things are going to get a lot more interesting in that book. There is some very mild language in this book.

Lauren's going on TOUR! Don't miss her tour dates here!

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Don't forget, if you want to read HANA for free for 4 days on MTV.com / Hollywood Crush on 2.14.12 be sure to be one of the 5,000 pre-orders for Pandemonium!! You can read the details here, along with 5 star review of Delirium.


Untraceable Blog Tour: Author Interview w/ S.R. Johannes

I'm thrilled to have S.R. Johannes on MM's today to talk about her debut YA book, Untraceable. You can read my review for it here and follow the rest of the tour here.

  • Untraceable is a thrilling murder mystery, and I really liked how you threw in the twists you did and the way the setting set the mood for the book. What was your favorite element to write about?
Well I love thrillers. So I hate it when I read a book and call the ending on page 1. I set out to make sure that did not happen. Writing those twists and turns and making them believable was fun.
  • What's something you came to admire about Grace during the course of writing her story?
I love Grace. How tough she is and how much she loves nature. But mostly, I love how she doesn’t waiver in her loyalty to her father. How she follows her gut no matter what anyone says about her or the case. I love that. I can be easily swayed by people’s opinions sometimes so that is a great quality I admire
  • I really fell in love with Untraceable's setting. How did you go about choosing the woods of North Carolina's Smoky Mtns as your setting?
My hubby camps there a lot plus we go to the mountains up there every fall. That area is close to Atlanta but far enough to get away. Plus when I saw those bear pits – I knew I could combine the woods with the Native American heritage and address animal issues – all under the disguise of a thriller hopefully teens will love.
  • I cannot wait to read more of Grace's story. Can you give us a little teaser from the sequel?
Hm. The book is set in winter in the NC Mountains so the survival skills are very different. Especially in the snow. Agent Sweeney offers Grace’s class a conservation opportunity for Science Extra Credit. To work with the reintroduction of the red wolves in NC. 6 kids are chosen and unfortunately Grace is on the same team as Wyn and Skyler so being out in the woods with two non-nature people is quite funny.
  • Congratulations on your recent MG release (since this is posting after it's release). Did you find it challenging to transition into writing MG from writing YA?
I wrote these books along time ago so there was time in between. I think tween is hard b/c they want adult issues but their parents have the purchasing power and want them to stay away from young adult. My challenge was making sure Gabby’s snarkiness didn’t come across as whiny with her being so young.
  • If you could write one of your favorite literary characters into Untraceable, who would that be and why?
Pippy Longstocking. I think she could hold her own with Grace or Gabby. She’s just as spunky.
  • What's a recent YA or MG you've read that you'd recommend we pick up?
The Pledge, Fracture, and The Sky is Everywhere. I will say I read the two zombie books by Amanda Hocking and could not put them down! I mean I was up until wee hours. I know some people question her books but those ones were gripping and scary.

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Thank you to S.R. Johannes for stopping by today! Be sure to visit S.R. Johannes on her Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads

Here's a little bit about her book:

16-year-old Grace has lived in the Smokies all her life, patrolling with her forest ranger father who taught her about wildlife, tracking, and wilderness survival.

When her dad goes missing on a routine patrol, Grace refuses to believe he’s dead and fights the town authorities, tribal officials, and nature to find him.

One day, while out tracking clues, Grace is rescued from danger by Mo, a hot guy with an intoxicating accent and a secret. As her feelings between him and her ex-boyfriend get muddled, Grace travels deep into the wilderness to escape and find her father.

Along the way, Grace learns terrible secrets that sever relationships and lives. Soon she’s enmeshed in a web of conspiracy, deception, and murder. And it’s going to take a lot more than a compass and a motorcycle (named Lucifer) for this kick-butting heroine to save everything she loves -quoted from Goodreads

Untraceable was released on November 29th, 2011 by Coleman & Stott

You can purchase Untraceable from: Amazon eBook form from: Barnes & Noble | SmashWords

Cassie Calms TMI Fans Movie "Rumor" Fears


Recently there's been some concern over an article that was a bit misleading with what it said about the TMI movie that is STILL currently in development. When asked about this the other day Cassie replied with this:

In this case, I will say:

1) The movie isn’t “cancelled.” This really doesn’t make much of any difference at all except in who distributes it.

2) Lily and Jamie are still attached. I mean, it’s been months since Screen Gems was connected with the project, and L&J are still attached, so I’m fairly confident they’ll be attached for the foreseeable future. Will they be attached forever? NO idea. But nothing about this makes it any more or less likely. And this isn’t news to them.

3) Really, this makes no difference to anything. I know words like “dropped” sound shocking and horrifying but in this context, it doesn’t mean much. I talked to Constantin last week and actually gave them a list of actors I liked for Simon (because why not?), and they gave me a schedule they expected to start filming by (August.)

No movie is going to be made until it’s greenlit. The movie was in development. It’s still in development. That said, Hollywood is like a big pinball machine. Projects bounce up, they roll around, they go this way, they go that way. This is (was) a bounce.


Go here to read the entire post Cassie posted on her Tumblr page. The highlighted text is taken from her post and I only quoted the end of that post.

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