"Red Glove" by Holly Black (Curse Workers Series #2)

**Spoilers!**

In this continuation of the Curse Workers series by Holly Black, and follows Cassel struggle with not only trying to maintain is normal life at school in this last couple years, but dealing with the discovery of his new Transformative powers. Things get more difficult when Lila joins his school, making it even harder to separate his lives, as well as his confusing feelings for Lila. But a new mystery emerges when Cassel learns that his brother, Phillip, has been murdered, and all they know about the killer is that she's  a woman. A woman with Red Gloves.

I really liked this book as a continuation of the series. The book at many strong points that helped elaborate on the world of the story and the characters, their relationships.

Cassel and his mother's relationship is definitely developed, especially during the exchanges during Phillip's funeral and toward the beginning of the book when Cassel discovers his mother has curse-worked Lila into 'loving' him. Cassel's mother is seemingly trying to help, but at this same time, knowingly not helping Cassel much at all in the long run. Lila's feelings, being produced by emotion working, will fade, so no matter how much Cassel's mother wants or thinks she is helping, she must know this will happen. The mother's character itself is very fickle and irresponsible. I also find it interesting her interactions with the other family, like Barron, and family friends, during many of the scenes involving Phillip's death. She seems obviously melodramatic, but it's clear she does love her children, and almost as though she just doesn't know how to get that message across.

I want to know about why the mother is like this. Maybe she felt bad about attaching to her children while she was bringing them up in such an unstable and corrupted environment, or maybe because of this environment she never had the time to learn how to communicate with her children.

I'm already started with the next book, Black Heart, but I'm very excited to see where this story goes!

"What's Left of Me" by Kat Zhang

**Slight Spoilers!**

What's Left of Me, by Kat Zhang, describes a world where humans are born with two souls, and the country America, now containing both South and North America, has been all but cut off from the rest of the world. These two-souled humans, called "hybrids" are seen as dangers to society, outcasts, and illegal in the U.S. The book follows Addie, who's know a freshman in high school. Her sister soul, Eva, had trouble"settling", or receding so Addie could live as one person. But Addie holds a deep secret- Eva never settled. She still lives deep inside Addie, paralyzed, as she watches the world through their eyes.

I liked this book, I guess. It was an interesting enough idea to base a book off of, and I enjoyed to read it, but I just felt like the plot was recycled, the characters didn't really make realistic choices, and there were some holes in the lore and history of the world.

The first two reasons I didn't exactly love this book go hand in hand. The plot was so predictable. There were little insignificant plot twists everywhere, but I felt like nothing really made me want to re-read a chapter or something. This was partly because of the predictability of the characters. For instance, it would have been far more interesting if Addie/Eva (how I will refer to them from now on) would have ran after Devon/Ryan told her to. I mean, Addie/Eva knew they were going to be taken away from their family either way, so why be taken to a horrible place where children are said to be institutionalized? Who knows. I'm not exactly going to say the character was a Mary-Sue, but it was a little clear that Eva represented a more adventurous side, possibly what the author wanted to be, and Addie represented who the author thought she was. This was also the author's first book, which further enforces my idea.

Also, possibly because this was her book, the author skimped on much background information that would have made the story clearer. One thing, why is the government against hybrids? It's very loosely explained. "Oh, other countries have them, and we don't like other countries!" "People can sometimes go insane from them!" (which ended up not even being true). It just confused me. I guess we can assume that people in this world were just afraid of what they didn't know, but that would also just make the whole scenario a lot more boring. Possibly a more substantial explanation would be revealed later in the series, as I assume it will be.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it didn't impress me. I will try to read the rest of the series, just to finish the story, but it wouldn't be on my top ten list of best books this year or anything.

Update: "Maus I..." by Art Spiegelman

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History is a book chronicling the true story of the author's father's life during the Nazi occupation of Poland and the Holocaust during World War II.

I love this book so far. I really can't wait to read the next on, and I'm sad that I'm almost done with this one. The art is so detailed and enthralling, and the story is so real. The illustrations make obvious symbols that somehow don't make the story as disturbing, but still holds that terrible truths behind it.

For example, the clear "cat and mouse" illustrations represent the way the Nazi's came after the pretty much helpless Jews. They played with them when they were around them like a cat plays with it's prey. This symbol, and others like it, make the story have a deeper meaning, but also, in my opinion, make the book slightly less disturbing for younger readers who may not be comfortable with the Holocaust in detail.

The animals playing the parts of humans also make the book easier to read and follow for younger readers like me, and engaging. Though I think I would be able to understand the plot okay, the physical change in appearance helps me distinguish and label characters in the story.

I would like to know why the other nationalities and ethnicities are represented as such. Like why are the Poles pigs? Was there any specific reasoning, like with the cats and Nazi's and Jewish people as mice (or rats, I can't really tell). I also thought I saw a frog and a lizard in a scene where a party was happening. Maybe more animals will be featured in the next book, or at the end of this one. Until then, read on!

"Cinder" by Marissa Meyer

**Slight Spoilers!**

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer, is a futuristic sci-fi retelling of the classic fairy tale Cinderella. Cinder is a cyborg mechanic in New Beijing far in the future. Adopted by her current family from Europe when she was eleven, Cinder has been forced to work for her stay since her adoptive father died fromt the fatal disease lemutosis, or the blue fever. Lemutosis has reached epidemic outbreak levels in the Eastern Commonwealth.  Cinder, with her natural affinity for technology, has risen to become the best mechanic in New Beijing, even with her second class citizen position as a cyborg. When the handsome and charming crown prince Kai comes to her shop with an android containing mysterious intel, she begins to learn that not everything is as it seems about her past.

I LOVED this book so much. For one thing, I love spins on stories. Creative retelling is something I like. It adds a new level to the story. I find that it's also just really fun to read and point out the little reference to the story. I also like spin-off books for this reason. Meyer creates a vivid world that I just want to know more about. Even stuff in real life I wouldn't really be interested in I want to know, like details about the history of each country (all 7 of them), where their borders end, their full relationship with the Lunars, and whether they colonized any other planets. I really liked the characters in this book as well. Cinder is strong as a character, but also has normal wishes and wants. Because she's a cyborg, it makes you want to root for her even more.

The book, because mainly of the cyborg issue, deals with discrimination as well. I would think that people who were part-mechanical (cyborg), though they would be strange, would be accepted. Cinder says in the book all cyborgs were basically just the way they were because of a nearly fatal accident. I would think that because they're not using their condition for their personal advancement, no one would have a problem. This is a little like the discrimination after the Civil Rights Act was passed. The African Americans were still treated badly, though now, legally, they could do whatever white people in American could. I guess even in the future, people are afraid of what they don't understand.

Just a note, I love that the author was a Sailor Moon fan fiction writer before she even published this book, which is her first book. I love the subtle Sailor Moon references too... people with "magical" powers who live on the moon... have a lost princess who lives on Earth... it's awesome.

The next books are equally as exciting as this one. Though, since it's a new series, I have to wait for them to come out (which is the problem with reading new series), they're supposed to be about Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, then Snow White. I'm getting pumped just thinking about it...

I can't wait for Scarlet, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles, to come out in February 2013. I already pre-ordered it, but I'm dying without knowing what happens. I have literally read the first chapter preview twenty times. I recommend this to fans of Wither, Hunger Games, and other futuristic books that follow that pattern... except this one has better characters and background.