Erikka > Recent Status Updates

I think I'll be rejoicing that this is short. R.L. may be a master of horror for kids, but his writing style is too juvenile for today's teens and his catchphrases are still from the mid-90s when I was reading Goosebumps. Might be time to retire, Mr. Stine.

I feel like my being a Central Ohioan made for a bit of spoilery foreshadowing that other readers wouldn't pick up on. Namely the code that becomes pivotal @ this point in the book.

This book raises some interesting questions about the plausibility of space tourism.

This book is pretty emotionally intense. Definitely a pageturner and it leaves a little hole in your stomach while you read it. Reviewing this will take some thought.

Is there anything this man writes that ISN'T freaking amazing?! If there is, I haven't found it yet.

I wonder how many of my male students would relate to Kyle in this part? I can vividly picture 2 or 3 of my kids reading Kyle's story, and I'm sure there are more...

Note to all authors of series: if your next book comes out more than 6 months after the last one, can we have one of those scrolling Star Warsesque "When last we left our heroes...' synopses? Please? I don 't remember a single thing about this series. At all.

Okay, this fake newscaster lady is ridiculous. No one in their right mind would give the cold shoulder to someone like that on national TV. I get his point, but he's way overexaggerating the "Lip service to *****, now back to Maddy." (spoiler removed).

Oh my god, Jackson, quit with the pity party! It's just an obnoxious amount of pointless whining. Ugh!

Seriously? This book needs an R rating for violence. It's really gory.

Gross. Just...gross.

So, on page 15, Niko fixes the mask Alex tells him is crooked...and on pg 27, Alex says "I guess the mask got pushed to the side..." Is early onset Alzheimer's a symptom now? Did you forget that, 12 pgs ago, you're the one who said "fix it"?!

Note to self: buy Emmy Laybourne a big poster that says "show: don't tell". Clearly the rudimentary first rule of good writing slipped past her. "Open highway (open meaning that there was one clear lane with no obstacles to go around)". I believe that merits a "you don't say..."

Should I be really unoriginal and say that this reminds me of Lord of the Flies? Because it does. And my inner librarian is filing this away as a "boy book".

Holy cow, this is good. It's like reading a movie!

I'm a bit concerned, as I'm 1/3 through this book and the plot hasn't arrived yet. It said it would be here by now, seeing as this is a book and all. Missing: One Plot. Please contact with information.

It kills me inside that this character is clearly suffering from some serious panic-anxiety, but no one really acknowledged that in 1991. Very sad (and yes, I know it's fiction, but it's realistic fiction for a reason...).

I'm having issues with Charlie. He's endearing and kinda funny, but he also seems like he's from another planet, or like he's an 8 year old passing as a freshman. He's just so embarrassingly awkward, like he doesn't know anything. It's odd.

Part 5 is so freakin creepy! It makes me sad...it makes me think of the Holocaust. :(

Now that's how you build a world! Authors, take note--Yancey is a pro @ world and character development.

"...we need to get to my apartment w/o being seen. He pulls a beanie from his coat pocket..." All I can picture is him pulling out a rainbow-colored hat with a little propeller on the top like a clown. The perfect disguise for staying hidden...lol

Is it bad that I find myself skipping the Scarlet Letter parts? In the last bk, I ate up the Jane Eyre parts. In this one, I don't really care about her and Hester. Maybe because of the trauma I received when I was forced to read that POS in high school...

First mention of French opera. Makes me excited for book 3 and her exploration of Phantom. :)

Pearce is always good for one-liners that make you laugh out loud. "I'm about the sleep with Jesus from a Proactiv commercial." That's a great mental image! :)

why are story collections always hit-and-miss? Is it too much to ask for one great story book that's uniformly great?

"All living creatures have the built-in urge to procreate..." Well, aren't we the queen of generalizing, Miss Pia? What about those of us who have no desire to do so? Are we defying some law of biology? You must be ashamed of us, you self-righteous nitwit...

ugh...hey i just met you for the third time in our lives, and this is really crazy, but ta-da! Love. Argh! I hate! HATE! Insta-love.

This book is bland, and also randomly sexist...I'm at odds, though, because the setting description is gorgeous and the premise is cool...

The tense of this book is weird. It's what I'm going to call 1st person uberpresent. It would have been better in past tense. And when someone says "I wonder if..", that generally means internally, but he either asks his "wonderings" aloud or his friends are psychic...