Mini-Reviews: School Spirits and Shades of Earth

I have gotten behind in reviews the past year since beginning college and I figured doing some mini-reviews would be the perfect way to share some quick thoughts on those titles I never got around to fully reviewing. Enjoy!

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School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins
Release date: May 14, 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Pages: 297
Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Series: Book 1
Source: Publisher
Links: Author's Website/Goodreads 

Overall: 3 out of 5 stars

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.
Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.
Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt? 

Mini-Review:

I am a huge fan of the Hex Hall series, so I was beyond excited when I found out Rachel Hawkins was writing a spin-off about Izzy. While I did enjoy this one, it wasn't as good as I had hoped. Izzy was a fun and likable heroine. Her family history of hunting magical creatures leads to her sister's disappearance and from there Izzy's life changes forever. She starts attending a new high school and quickly learns that there is something dark plaguing the students there. While Izzy expects to figure out the problem and prove herself to her mother, she does not expect to make close friends and meet a cute, but unique, boy. I enjoyed the mystery angle of this story and watching Izzy navigate her new life. She was a character I could root for and I liked how different the secondary characters were- it made them stand out a lot. While I did enjoy School Spirits, some things felt a little rushed to me, particularly the ending. I also found myself not as engaged in the story as I would have hoped. For such a short read this one took me awhile to finish. The characters and plot were fun, but the rushed pace and lack of connection I felt to the story at times left me disappointed. Hopefully news of the sequel will be released soon because I think this series does have the potential to develop into something better.

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Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
Release date: January 15, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 369
Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 3
Source: Publisher
Links: Author's Website/Goodreads

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.
But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight.
Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.
FUELED BY LIES.
RULED BY CHAOS.
ALMOST HOME.

Mini-Review:

I can easily say that this is one of my all-time favorite series. I devoured Across the Universe, A Million Suns, and Shades of Earth and was left feeling quite sentimental when I turned the last page in this action-packed and romantic trilogy. Just when things seem to be working out for Amy and Elder and the rest of the passengers aboard Godspeed, they land on Centauri-Earth. The joy of reaching their new home is quickly shattered when the planet reveals it's darker side. Nature is attacking them and it seems they are not the only ones calling the planet home. I think this was definitely the most intense read of the series, especially because I was so attached to the characters at this point. Amy and Elder are put to the test over and over again and I was worried they might never find happiness. Beth Revis is an incredible writer and story-teller and I am heartbroken that this series has come to an end. I don't want to give anything away, but if you read and enjoyed the first two books in this series you will love this final addition to what is easily one of my favorite new series. I can only hope Beth's next offering will offer up such brilliant plot twists, lovable and strong characters, and sweet romance as the Across the Universe series did. 

Review: The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Release date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 256
Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Source: Publisher
Links: Goodreads

Overall: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.
The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.
I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.
All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.
From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind.

Review:

I didn't read much about The Vanishing Season before I picked it up, so I had no idea what to expect. It was a beautifully written and mysterious read that I was able to finish in one sitting. While it did leave something to be desired, I enjoyed the uniqueness of the story, the characters, and the writing style.

Maggie and her parents move into an old house in Door County just as winter is arriving and girls are beginning to disappear. Maggie was not your typical teenager. She was quiet, well-behaved, and respectful. She had never had a boyfriend and spent most of her time saving up for college and being home-schooled. A lot changes when she meets the free-spirited Pauline who lives next door. Maggie and Pauline become fast friends, but little do they know how much can change over one frozen winter.

Pauline and Maggie both frustrated me in different ways. Maggie needed to grow a backbone and Pauline needed to stop thinking she deserved everything without working for it. I still felt for them when everything became very dark in Door County and they had to face some serious situations.The mystery angle with all of the missing girls was very creepy and I was always anxious for our two main characters. The ghostly narrator was another unique and mysterious aspect of the book. We also don't find out their identity until the very end. I do wish we got more closure on the criminal aspect-we never really get a full answer of who was responsible. The paranormal side was less in your face, but the ghostly presence definitely played an important role.

The Vanishing Season was very beautifully written; Jodi Lynn Anderson has a way with words that can make almost any story worth reading. There wasn't necessarily a plot to The Vanishing Season, but it is a quick read that drew me in. This book will certainly not be for everyone, but I did like it as a whole, mostly because it was so different from everything else I've been reading lately.

Review: Hidden (Firelight, #3) by Sophie Jordan

Hidden by Sophie Jordan
Release date: September 11, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 260
Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Series: Book 3 (Firelight, Vanish)
Source: Gift
Links: Author's Website / Goodreads 

Overall: 3 out of 5 stars

Jacinda was supposed to bond with Cassian, the "prince" of their pride. But she resisted long before she fell in love with Will—a human and, worse, a hunter. When she ran away with Will, it ended in disaster, with Cassian's sister, Miram, captured. Weighed down by guilt, Jacinda knows she must rescue her to set things right. Yet to do so she will have to venture deep into the heart of enemy territory.
The only way Jacinda can reach Miram is by posing as a prisoner herself, though once she assumes that disguise, things quickly spiral out of her control. As she learns more about her captors, she realizes that even if Will and Cassian can carry out their part of the plan, there's no guarantee they'll all make it out alive. But what Jacinda never could have foreseen is that escaping would be only the beginning....
Loyalties are tested and sacrifices made in the explosive conclusion to Sophie Jordan's Firelight trilogy.

Review:
* may contain spoilers for the first two books in the series 

In an effort to tackle the pile of unfinished series I have sitting in my room, I started with Hidden, the conclusion to the Firelight trilogy. I read and loved the first two books in this series and, for some reason, never got around to reading the last book. Hidden was a heart-pounding and emotional conclusion, but I did not enjoy it as much as the previous two installments.

It's been awhile since I finished Vanish, so it took me a couple of chapters to get into this one and realize where things had left off for Jacinda and company. The action kicked off right away with Jacinda posing as a prisoner to try and rescue Cassian's sister, Miram, who was already captured. It was sad to see how inhumanely the human captors treated their draki captives. Jacinda is only in captivity for one night, but she already is struggling. Although I didn't want to see any of the draki imprisoned, I think it would have been fascinating to learn more about the enkros and their motivation.

Hidden allowed us to get to know Jacinda, Tamra, Cassian, and Will even more and to see new sides of all of them. All of the characters had to face a lot of challenges and encountered new threats. I did not always feel as connected to Jacinda as I would have liked and her constant back-and-forth with Will and Cassian was kind of frustrating.

A few new characters were introduced in this addition to the series, but their story lines ended way too fast. I was left wondering what had happened to them and about how other draki lived. Hidden was by far the shortest book in the series and I think the length worked against it. I still had questions and wanted to know more.

The plot was definitely fast-paced and there were several shocking twists that I was not at all expecting. The Firelight series started off as one of my favorites and while I was disappointed by the conclusion, I am still satisfied with the ending. I will definitely be recommending this trilogy to any paranormal romance fan!