Review: Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStefano

Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStafano

Publisher: 10 March 2015 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Pages: 320

Series: The Internment Chronicles #2

You can read my review of Perfect Ruin (The Interment Chronicles #1) here.

"Danger descends in the second book of The Internment Chronicles, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Chemical Garden trilogy.

After escaping Internment, Morgan and her fellow fugitives land on the ground to finally learn about the world beneath their floating island home.

The ground is a strange place where water falls from the sky as snow, and people watch moving pictures and visit speakeasies. A place where families can have as many children as they want, their dead are buried in vast gardens of bodies, and Internment is the feature of an amusement park.

It is also a land at war.

Everyone who fled Internment had their own reasons to escape their corrupt haven, but now they’re caught under the watchful eye of another king who wants to dominate his world. They may have made it to the ground, but have they dragged Internment with them?"

I was completely in love with the first installment of this series, so the moment this book was available to me, I snatched it up a devoured it! 

Burning Kingdoms picks up right where Perfect Ruin left off. The group of rebels have landed on the ground and they are attempting to figure out the world they are now living in. I loved the way that DeStafano was able to take many aspects of living on Earth and write about it from the point of view of someone who had never experienced any of it. She talks about birds, thunderstorms, bombs, and rain in such a way that it was eye opening for me. Sometimes I would think "wow, I never thought of it that way", and I think that is a testament to what a phenomenal writer DeStefano is. 

The only thing you should know going in to this book is that it is quite a bit of set up for the third installment, which I'm all for. However, it seems to drag in some places because there is so much set up and barely any resolution. I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and the rebeles to be in danger on the ground, but they were never really in any great peril. 

I'm excited to see where all of the relationships are going to go in the next book! I have so many questions that I want answered and I want them answered now! Hurry up and write faster Lauren DeStefano so I can enjoy this world once more! 

Broken Crowns, the third installment, is set to be published sometime in 2016. 

If you haven't yet, I highly recommend you go out and get The Internment Chronicles! You will not be disappointed!

-Shawnee Smith

The Next Ten Weeks

My final quarter at Community College has arrived!

I will, thankfully, be transferring to a University at the beginning of the 2015/2016 academic year and I could not be happier! (Except that I will be leaving behind @TurningPages94. Sad.)

I just wanted to fill you all in on what is happening on that frontier and discuss what will be happening on this blog for the next ten weeks. 

Okay, so, my subconscious apparently wanted to kill me with this course load, and I'm not joking. I'm taking three full classes (the maximum that you can take without getting the Dean's permission for extra courses and that's really just a waste of time) and I have been on the honor roll every quarter I have been eligible (must take more than 10 credits) so I have a reputation to live up to. I say reputation because I don't want the colleges I have been accepted to rescind their applications because my final quarter grades were not good enough. And I'm also trying to squeeze some more money out of them by way of academic scholarships. 

Those three classes I am taking are American Sign Language 121, English 210 - American Nobel Laureates, and Psychology 101. 

In ASL we are required to come to class, obviously since that is how we will be getting all of our information and learning to sign. We are also required to have one hour long study groups twice a week in addition to completing the one hour long video homework that is given every. single. night. We are also given quizzes/tests every few days so we really have to know our stuff. (Side Note: My ASL teacher is all super bubbly and happy while she is signing but the SECOND that she starts talking she gets all strict and mean and her voice does not match her body. This isn't really relevant, we just like laughing about it in my study group and I like mentioning it.)

In English I have to read a new book every two weeks and write a paper on it (really, this is the easiest class). In addition to attending classes (random quizzes on materials studied during lectures and class participation is counted towards my grade. yippee.) Plus a four page 'research' paper and a final paper. 

Psychology is the weird one. Our class lectures are what is going to be making up the final test. However, we have a test every two weeks covering three-four different chapters in the book. It is our responsibility to read said book, understand said book, and know material in said book for said quizzes. 

I am also visiting two colleges this month (roadtrip!) to see if I like either of them. 

I am also determined to continue blogging even though my schoolwork makes me want to bang my head into a wall and hibernate until I graduate. 

The blog posts will not be frequent, and I will not do another Monthly Challenge until July...ish. However, I do promise to continue reading the genre I love and write as many reviews and posts as I possibly can! 

So, that is what is going to be happening for the next ten weeks. I kind of just dropped off the map last time and I didn't really like that. I am going to try to be better! 

-Shawnee Smith

P.S. I have no idea what book to read next, so if anyone reads this all the way to the end (props dude) then leave me a suggestion as to what I should pick up! 

What I'm Reading Right Now

I am currently OBESSED with 

The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater

   

The Raven Boys

The Dream Thieves

Blue Lily, Lily Blue

The Raven King

I have only read the first two in the series but I have the third one (Blue Lyly, Lily Blue) on hold at the library so if they would kindly HURRY UP AND SHIP IT TO ME, then I can get on with the tale of Blue and her Raven Boys. 

But then I'll have to wait until September to read The Raven King anyways....so I guess it's a good thing the library is taking forever?

haha just kidding. It's not good.

If you like the fantasy genre, then I STONGLY recommend The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater! 

-Shawnee Smith

New This Week

Week of March 30, 2014

Hardcover

   

Ash (Destined #1) by Shani Petroff

Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein

The Cemetery Boys by Heather Brewer

Instinct (Chronicles of Nick #6) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

   

The Kidney Hypothetical: Or How to Ruin You Life in Seven Days by Lisa Yee

King (Dragon King Chronicles #3) by Ellen Oh

Sisters of Blood and Spirit (Sisters of Blood and Spirit #1) by Kady Cross

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

The Wicked Will Rise (Dorothy Must Die #2) by Danielle Paige

Paperback

   

The F-It List by Julie Halpern

Greensleeves by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Illusion (Chronicles of Nick #5) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Warrior (Dragon King Chronicles #2) by Ellen Oh

-Shawnee Smith

Review: Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

Published: 9 September 2014 by Harper Teen

Pages: 416, Hardcover

Series: N/A

"Sam McKenna’s never turned down a dare. And she's not going to start with the last one her brother gave her before he died.

So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty...no matter how much she wants him.

As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active… and determined to force her out.

At any cost.

Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust...and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences."

This was the first book that I read after my hiatus due to that thing we all call school, and I have to say that I chose wisely. 

First off, Sam McKenna is a BAD ASS! Though most of the book's plot is about boys and men thinking that she cannot keep up with the rigorous demands of this elite military academy, she shows them up all. the. time. If you are looking for a great role-model, you should seriously consider Sam. She is one tough, fearless girl and I applaud Hensley for writing Sam just the way she is. 

I liked the pace of this book. Nothing happened too quickly and all of the events in the book were placed though out a school year. So many novels will have three days of terrible events be the whole book, and I like the ones that take the time to develop the characters over longer periods of their life.

The other characters that surround Sam are the ones that really make the story work. Drill, Sam's brother - Johnathan, and Kelly are the best in my opinion. You never really know what is going on in their heads or what their motives are. 

The one thing I did have a problem with this novel was the whole "secret society" thing. I thought at times it became too much. Like it was this giant conspiracy for Sam to no longer be at DMA and it didn't feel realistic to me. Also, I thought Dares were going to be a bigger part of the plot since the synopsis says that Sam can't turn down a dare. The only one she gets (and she doesn't even get it in the novel, but in the past) was to go to DMA and finish the first year. I thought it would have been interesting to have more dares though the book.

I immensely enjoyed this novel. I thought the character were incredibly well written and I thought the story was fresh and new. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and definitely recommend it! 

-Shawnee Smith

So...I'm Not Dead

So...If you follow me then you will notice that I haven't posted for the last.... GASP... 2.5 months. 

You might want an explanation, huh?

By now you should all know that I am in college. It's not fun a lot of the time (classes are DULL), but I still have to go because I need an education and blah blah blah. This quarter I took all communications classes: English 265 (Comedy, Humor, and Satire), Communications 102 (Intro to Mass Media), and Journalism 102 (Intro to Journalism Writing). 

My English and Journalism classes had A LOT of work. Every two weeks I had to have read, annotated, and written an essay about a new book all while making sure my thoughts were good enough to impress my teacher since he was writing me letters of recommendations. Also for my Journalism class I have had to write a news story practically every single day. It has been a lot. 

At the beginning of the year I was also chosen to be on the board of my school's Literary Magazine. 5 students are chosen every year to edit and publish the magazine and it is a huge honor to be chosen. There were over a thousand submissions this year to go through (with only about 200 making the final cut) and that has taken up a huge chunk of my time (I got the first submissions during winter break in December and just finished editing the first galley this week). 

Since I am also a sophomore in a community college this year, it is time for me to apply for transfer to other Universities. I don't know how many of you have been on this journey yet, but filling out seven different applications takes up a whole lot of your time. Especially if you want your applications to be good so you can be accepted to the colleges of your choice. 

That and there have just been a lot of personal things going on: medical issues in my family, relatives passing away, siblings moving out, etc. 

So that has been my life lately. I've had little time for pleasure reading and what I did read I just haven't found the time for blogging. It's been a crazy couple of months but I really do want to get back into things. 

Spring break is coming up in the next week so maybe I can start then *crosses fingers*

-Shawnee Smith

December Challenge Day 31 - Read This Month

1. Landry Park (Landry Park #1) by Bethany Hagen

2. Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry

3. Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas

4. In The After Light (Darkest Minds #3) by Alexandra Bracken 

5. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

6. Captive (Blackcoat Rebellion #2) by Aimee Carter

7. Fallen (Fallen #1) by Lauren Kate

8. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

9. To All The Boys I've Loved Before (To All The Boys I've Loved Before #1) by Jenny Han

10. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas

11. The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

12. Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

13. Catching Jordan (Hundred Oaks) by Miranda Kenneally

14. Loop (Loop #1) by Karen Akins

Those are all of the books that I have read this month.

And with that, I am DONE with the December Challenge! I never missed a day either! I am so proud of myself! If you want to know more about the December Challenge, you can click here.

I hope you guys have a great end to 2014 tonight and have a great start to 2015!

-Shawnee Smitnh