Showing posts with label Robin Wasserman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robin Wasserman. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday (104): WAKING DARK & PROJECT CAIN


THE WAKING DARK by Robin Wasserman
September 10th, 2013
"They called it the killing day. Twelve people dead, all in the space of a few hours. Five murderers: neighbors, relatives, friends. All of them so normal. All of them seemingly harmless. All of them now dead by their own hand . . . except one. And that one has no answers to offer the shattered town. She doesn't even know why she killed—or whether she'll do it again.

Something is waking in the sleepy town of Oleander's, Kansas—something dark and hungry that lives in the flat earth and the open sky, in the vengeful hearts of upstanding citizens. As the town begins its descent into blood and madness, five survivors of the killing day are the only ones who can stop Oleander from destroying itself. Jule, the outsider at war with the world; West, the golden boy at war with himself; Daniel, desperate for a different life; Cass, who's not sure she deserves a life at all; and Ellie, who believes in sacrifice, fate, and in evil. Ellie, who always goes too far. They have nothing in common. They have nothing left to lose. And they have no way out. Which means they have no choice but to stand and fight, to face the darkness in their town—and in themselves."
Sounds very eerie. I enjoy eerie books, so I'm excited for this one. 

PROJECT CAIN by Geoffrey Girard
September 3rd, 2013

"Fifteen-year-old Jeff Jacobson had never heard of Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous serial killer who brutally murdered seventeen people more than twenty years ago. But Jeff’s life changes forever when the man he’d thought was his father hands him a government file telling him he was constructed in a laboratory only seven years ago, part of a top-secret government cloning experiment called ‘Project CAIN’.

There, he was created entirely from Jeffrey Dahmer’s DNA. There are others like Jeff—those genetically engineered directly from the most notorious murderers of all time: The Son of Sam, The Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy . . . even other Jeffrey Dahmer clones. Some raised, like Jeff, in caring family environments; others within homes that mimicked the horrific early lives of the men they were created from.

When the most dangerous boys are set free by the geneticist who created them, the summer of killing begins. Worse, these same teens now hold a secret weapon even more dangerous than the terrible evil they carry within. Only Jeff can help track the clones down before it’s too late. But will he catch the ‘monsters’ before becoming one himself?"

This story sounds intriguing, and that cover is incredible! His reflection? Very, very creepy (it kind of reminds me of the cover for DUALED).

What are you waiting on this week?

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Mini-Review: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

The Book of Blood and Shadow
Robin Wasserman
April 10th, 2012
448 pages (hardcover)
Publisher - Random House
Source - Netgalley
...When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark.

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora’s best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora’s sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.
The Book of Blood and Shadow rightly deserves to be referred to as The DaVinci Code for YA literature. It's smart, entertaining, and wonderfully written. Wasserman takes her time to build Nora's character (along with Adriane, Chris, Max, and eventually, Eli). When the story truly begins, you cannot help but to root for Nora and admire her tenacity as she delves deeper into the mystery at hand. Every letter leads to another exciting clue, as well as to more danger for the characters involved. If you love a good mystery with plenty of surprises, then definitely check this novel out. 

Highlights: The Book of Blood and Shadow captivated me from start to finish. Once the mysteries began, the intensity never let up. The best compliment I can pay this story is that everything felt real - the mystery and history, the clues, the emotions, the characters, and the settings. There's fun banter between characters. I enjoyed having a narrator with an exceptional vocabulary. Also, the surprises and twists! 

Lowlights: For the first half, this story feels like a very long book. I wish some parts had been shortened a bit. Also, the summary makes you think that Chris is dead when the book begins - but he's actually alive for quite some time, so I felt like that was misleading and frustrating (since I knew what was coming). 

Rating: 


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Image + Summary from Goodreads

Saturday, December 17, 2011

In My Mailbox (65)

***
For Review
Hunted by Cheryl Rainfield
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Freebie (Kindle)
PinPoint by Cheryl Rainfield
Gifted
Scrivener for Windows
Best writing software ever. Seriously. I love it.
(image from their website)


Thanks to Cheryl, Netgalley, Random House, and my parents!

What did you get this week?

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (times two!)

WOW is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine

The Book of  Blood and Shadow
Robin Wasserman 
April 10th, 2012
It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark. 

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora's best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.
You say "secrets" or even allude to a mystery, and I'm completely on board. The cover is a bit odd though (it reminds me of The Host). I'm not really feeling this cover too much, except for the cool eye color & reflection.

And my next pick is...
I couldn't find any info on a release date or a summary (the cover was revealed on Anna's Tumblr), but I am EXCITED, and I'm loving this dark, muted cover - it makes me curious about the story. I loved Jarzab's debut novel, so I'm hopeful this one will be just as great :)

What are you waiting on? 

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