The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Rae CarsonSeptember 20th, 2011432 pages (hardcover)Greenwillow BooksSource: Netgalley and later Purchased for Kindle

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. Elisa is the chosen one. But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will. 
Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake....read more at Goodreads. 

Honestly, I originally read two chapters, said "meh" and then set the novel aside for the next three months. Obviously, I picked it back up again, and I am very glad that I did. 
The Girl of Fire and Thorns begins somewhat inauspiciously, where Carson introduces a heroine that complains too much and inspires too little confidence in her readers. Once 140+ pages pass and an important event takes place, the story comes to life. Elisa's wavering confidence grows. Her somewhat dull personality begins to take on more interesting facets, and she begins to accept herself and her purpose - making it easy to enjoy her character.  
I want to say so much more, but this is one of those stories you need to read for yourself so all the surprises aren't spoiled. The Girl of Fire and Thorns is rife with religion, political agendas, secrets, a dash of romance, and plenty of heart-pounding moments as Elisa tries to evade her enemies and draws closer to an impending war. Once you get into this story, there's no setting it aside. 
Highlights: It was easy to lose myself in the pages and tumble into the rich and vibrant world Carson created (that is, once the story really got going). Certain characters I did not originally care for became favorites by the end - like Cosmé, or even Elisa¹. I loved the whole Malficio group, and Lord Hector. Carson wraps up Elisa's story almost completely and ends on a strong note². 
Lowlights: Some predictability. Elisa at the beginning was difficult to like, to the point where I did set the novel aside. The first 100ish pages were, for the most part, a bit flat and hardly kept my attention. 
Rating: 
1 I was actually surprised how many characters grew on me by the ending - that's rare. 2 Yay, for an actual resolution + only the slightest tease of the forthcoming sequel. 



Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes and Nobles / The Book Depository

When I Was Joe by Keren David

Book: When I Was Joe

Author: Keren David

Release: September, 2010

Pages: 364

Source: Publicist

My {spoiler-free} Summary:

Joe is popular. Joe is an amazing runner. Joe has got everything going for him. Too bad Joe isn't a real person.

Fourteen-year-old Ty witnesses a murder, and does what he thinks is the right thing: tells the police. But now dangerous people are after him and will stop at nothing to keep him from testifying in court, even if it means killing him and anyone who gets in the way.

Now Ty's stuck entering the witness protection program with his mother, Nicki. Ty is gone, and his new identity is Joe. Despite the drastic changes, he's enjoying his new life, especially when he meets a sweet girl who has dark secrets too. But his mom is struggling day to day and can barely keep herself together. Not to mention that any second they could be found, and really be in danger.

Secrets, lies, and danger lurking in every corner....The mysteries all unravel one page at a time in this addictive debut. 

Review: Simply stunning in it's ability to keep a reader dangling with anticipation on every page, When I Was Joe doesn't fail to surprise and end with a bang.

Ty/Joe has a unique voice that truly drew me in, made me laugh, as well as really care for him. His life is just turned upside down because of what he's seen, and it's easy to sympathize with him. The complexities of his new life and the people in it kept me curious about what could possibly happen next. Ty's really going through a coming-of-age time in his life, struggling with his morals and his secrets. The contrast between who Ty was and who he is becoming is intriguing to follow. Even when Ty is screwing up, I'm still rooting for him. The other characters are all dynamic as well, but I would have love more of Claire.

Keren David knows just how to keep a reader hooked, because at the end of every chapter I wanted to keep going. There's action, thrilling edge-of-your-seat moments, social issues, the bonds a family has, and a some budding friendships. This book made me laugh, gasp, happy, upset, angry, and in the end I wanted so much more.

Highlights: David makes Ty/Joe a very authentic character, and he's very easy to sympathize with. I think the biggest compliment I can pay David besides the previous sentence is that she genuinely surprised me. I thought I had everything all figured out, and she shocked me towards the end. I loved the cultural aspect too, because this book is definitely full of British slang and societal problems that I just didn't know about. It was a nice change to jump into something real, problematic, unique and different.

Lowlights: The pacing of the story starts slow, but it almost seems necessary for the storyline to work.

Rating: