K Project (K) Anime Review

From myanimelist.net

Set in a world where history has taken a slightly different course from the one we're familiar with, K follows the story of a young boy whose life is caught in a psychic war between seven kings.
Ashinaka High School is known for its unique setting: the entire campus is built on an island. Yashiro Isana, aka Shiro, is having lunch with a cat on one of the school rooftops. After his lunch break, Shiro goes on an errand for his classmate Kukuri to prepare for their upcoming school festival, only to be chased by some intimidating-looking men. 

I originally found out about this anime through a tumblr gif. That is probably where I find the animes that look the amazing most often. So it's safe to say the thing that drew me into this anime was the art style. I am in love with the colors and the world of this anime. It looks amazing and it makes me happy at how peaceful it is and you can clearly see the effort it takes to make something look this good. There are a lot of visual special effects that I have not seen in animes I've been watching, that really add to the experience when there are fight scenes.

I'm afraid of talking too much about this anime, because it's quite easy to spoil it. It is a thirteen episode shounen anime with kings in future japan that have supernatural powers. For instance, they can fight with fire. It's a bit confusing to understand if you're not paying close attention, but I don't think you'll get too lost if you keep following the story. I ended up watching the entire series in a day, and I was thoroughly entertained.

Review: Mind Games by Kiersten White

Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

from goodreads


I was really excited when I found out about this book. I ended up getting it through my nook ASAP, and finished it in a couple of hours. This novel has made me feel extremely fluffy and good, even though it's not so much of a fluffy sort of young adult novel. This is the kind of book that I want to buy a hardback cover for.

Kiersten White also wrote the Paranormalcy series, which I've heard about, but never really wanted to read because it was in the whole craze of paranormal romance, and I just couldn't handle anymore than I already read, previously. As I started reading the novel, I noticed that the writing was really simple, but the action in it was written wonderfully. I haven't read a really action packed novel is forever, not really, but still, I liked it. Something to take note of is that the novel is written between the two main character's points of views. Also, when you read Mind Games you jump write into the madness, and then you get pulled back to the past-which is as much action packed as the present. At first, that really got on my nerves, but I ended up liking the buffering motion it gave, while still giving you something to chew on.

Fia and Anna are two very different main characters, but they work well with each other. I, personally, favor Fia so much more than Anna. Probably because we see in side her brain first, and I'm just more used to her throughout the series. The idea of the novel to me, doesn't seem very light and girly, but Mind Games makes me feel like Kiersten White took a page out of my very close group of friends' party, and added a bunch of these crazy aspects.

I like the fact that I'm suspicious of pretty much everyone. You're always kept on your toes, and when I read it I felt like I was floating through this world, and just kept wanting to read more, constantly. I will definitely look into more of Kiersten White's novel. BTW this novel just came out last week, and I believe her next novel comes out in September of this year. Mind Games is the first of it's own series, which doesn't continue until the winter of 2014, which sounds far away, but that's just because I still can't believe it's the year 2013. To stop the rambles that keep spilling out, I'd tell my best friend to read this book and give it a head nods, thumbs up, and smiling like there's no tomorrow. (5 out of 5)

Review: Chase Tinker and the House of Magic by Maila Ann Haberman

In Chase Tinker's world, magic, lies and secrets can be a lethal combination...

Thirteen-year-old Chase Tinker can't understand why he has the power to move things with his mind. Besides that, his dad has been missing for over a year, causing his mom to be too upset to pay much attention to her sons, so now he's been busted for shoplifting. As if this isn't enough to worry about, his younger brother Andy suddenly has a weird magical ability too.

Can things get any crazier? Chase thinks.

Then, a grandfather they thought to be long dead arrives at their door. He wants Chase and Andy to come visit him for the summer so they can learn about their supernatural heritage and why they have magical powers in the first place.

The boys soon find out that Grandfather, along with their cousin Janie, lives on a remote island in the middle of Puget Sound in an out-of-this-world house where fantastic magic can be found in practically every room, stairway and corridor. Chase can't believe their dad has been keeping so much from them.

It's an even bigger shock when Chase learns that all their magic is controlled by a very powerful and mysterious Relic in the attic, and if anything happens to this relic, every bit of Tinker magic will be lost forever. He's even more disturbed when he learns his family has a dark and powerful enemy that is determined to steal all their magic, their house and their relic. 

Now Chase must find a way to stop these evil beings, while at the same time figuring out what has happened to his dad, unraveling even more Tinker lies and secrets and not letting on that he has a huge crush on the housekeeper's daughter.

from goodreads

Chase Tinker and the House of Magic can be one of those family book series that anyone would like. Mostly, if you are a fan of Harry Potter-and come on, who isn't? The book is not a rip off of the Harry Potter series though, and that was the key parts of why I liked it. I wasn't too keen on the idea of this twelve, almost thirteen year old boy and his brother discovering they have magical powers, and go to their grandfather's house to learn.

Malia Ann Haberman is a great author, but I won't compare her to J.K. Rowling because that's quite cruel, and no one can beat her-in my opinion. Though, she writes amazingly well, and it doesn't suck, as some independent authors have a tendency of having poor grammar and spelling-which can get tedious to a reader.   

The main thing I loved about her writing, was the characters. They were all very tangible people, and it was interesting to see them interact and follow them through the novel. My favorite character has to be the boy's grandfather, and I love the whole plop in out of no where characters. Sometimes, those characters are annoying and jerks, but the grandfather seems to work out a balance of being a cool old guy, that isn't a creeper. 

I believe that Chase Tinker and the House of Magic is a great reader for those middle grade reader, and even adults, anyone really. The thing is, magic is such an old story that you'd think it gets old after a while, but this novel is not one of those boring been there done that sort of deal. So, you guys being one of my all time favorite people, I give the novel by Malia Ann Haberman a head nods, thumbs up, and smiling like there's no tomorrow. (5 out of 5)

Review: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.


from goodreads

I have this strange fascination with eating disorders. Now, before you ask me a bunch or questions or try to get me help, I don't have one. I love food, and I eat everything in moderation. I hope you take my word for that, and please don't bombard me with anything. Secondly, I am a Laurie Halse Anderson fan, I didn't think I was when I was reading the last book from her, The Catalyst, but now I think I'm a true fan.

Laurie Halse Anderson is known for writing Speak, and along with her most award novel many other young adult fiction. Most of her stories are categorized as "tough", because of their themes. Many of her novels have started controversies. I, however, learn from her books about these "tough" themes. I'm not sure how your school system works, but I go to public school, and these themes are lightly touched on, and sometimes teachers aren't allowed to respond to questions. I find that incredibly discouraging. Anyways, I love how every novel she writes, she has this own style for her main characters, because they are in first person. It makes the novel feel more touchable, and relatable. When I read her novels, I always have this uncertainty that this character won't survive. It's quite scary, and I think it gives a personal experience for a reader, that hasn't gone or know anyone that has gone through these "tough" themes.

Lia is the main character in Wintergirls, and she is one of the wintergirls. Her use to be best friends, was found in a motel dead in the beginning of the novel, and that's when you find out the many problems Lia goes through, and the way she thinks and especially reacts to others, and events. Lia is numb. She's the kind of character that you want so bad to help, but you're not sure hoe exactly. I feel very attached to Lia, and even though she did so many things that scared me, and I would probably roll over and die, she's my hero in a way. Lia's story is one of many other girls that all over the world, have experienced, and some aren't as fortunate as her.

Cassie needs a punch in the face, in my opinion. Even at the end, I can't stand her, and I feel thing urge to kill and dead person, that's haunting Lia. Cassie is also anorexic, and is the cause of the wintergirls, and Lia's "struggle". I can't say that I particularly liked many other characters, they were all expected from Laurie Halse Anderson, and some are still a mystery to me. I can see how some characters can have their own story, and I would love to explore.

 The entire novel has this underlying feeling of coldness, and winter. There was always a haze of unsureness, or distress from the reader, or Lia. I think because I read the novel over a period of weeks, that it made the novel bearable. I'm not sure if I could sit down and read the novel in a weekend, especially when I'm in a reading rut, but I think that it is possible. That's why I give Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson a head nods, thumbs up, and smiling like there's no tomorrow. (5 out of 5)

Review: Casey Barnes Eponymous by E.A. Rigg

It's three weeks into the school year when music junkie Casey Barnes gets a second chance with her mysterious, heartbreaking ex-boyfriend. She comes up with a plan to win him back, but it soon spins out of control as rivalries, revelations about him, and music itself all start to collide. For Casey the newfound attention means learning the difference between wanting center stage and actually being on it.

From Goodreads

Casey Barnes Eponymous had to be the closest book I've ever related to and at the same time shown me this whole other side. I'm a musician to some degree and the area that this story took place in really made me giggly to no end.

E.A. Rigg how I worship at your feet for writing the most epic playlist novel with the best main character there could possible be. All the playlists in this novel made me really proud and some what downgraded what I thought good music was and the epicness that I have been missing in the punk/rock community. I love the dialogue written in the story and the characters were completely life like.

Review: The Secrets of the Vanmars by Elisabeth Wheatley

Goodreads

 The Secrets of the Vanmars is a novel I wished I read earlier when I first received the book. I was very hesitant to read it because I am not that big of a fan of fantasy novels. I didn't have much of a standard when I started reading the novel, but it blew my mind with the characters and expansive world Janir lives in. 

Elisabeth Wheatley is the youngest author that I have ever read and she could go for thirty if I didn't know ahead of time. Her writing wasn't a novice and she used her words carefully, unlike most seventeen year olds. I love the world she created and the special weapons of the Argetallams. The world and characters were well developed and I wished I had read the first book before. 

I absolutely loved the characters in this novel, besides the MC with daddy issues, Janir I couldn't stop laughing with and at Karile. He's more of the jester than the enchantress, but he means well though his actions might make you think other wise. The love interest, Saoven is the charming, and handsome elf, and I can see him with Janir, unlike other novels that decide to have two people fall in love after an hour. I really love to read more about the elves and their ways in future novels in the series. 

What I loved most about this novel is the fast paced keep moving mentality. There wasn't a moment where I felt the novel was dull or could be better. There was always something pressing and it made me read the novel less than a day. When I started reading the novel, I couldn't stop until I had to. 

As for how the novel ended, it made me feel content, but at the same time I want to get my hands on the third novel. I'm afraid where the next novel will go for Janir because you(me) never wants the MC to go crazy or have someone else completely change who they are. Besides that I am all for reading all seven novels in the series. I do recommend to read the first novel before this one. It seems like I've been reading some really awesome books lately, so The Secrets of the Vanmars gets a head nods, thumbs up, and smiling like there's no tomorrow. (5 out of 5)