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scott westerfeld

Book Review : Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

June 21, 2012      8 Comments

Synopsis : Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She’s a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn’s paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever 

Deryn is a fifteen year old girl masquerading as a boy to join the airservice

Alex is a young prince who is on the run from a the threat of  The Great War

The Leviathan is a  living airship made from fabricated beast that brings the two together in a great adventure in this spirited re-imaging of World War I.

Leviathan is a high-flying adventure story filled with wonderment and discovery. I’m not sure why I picked this book up, I think it was because I wanted to see how the illustrations I’d glanced at related to the story. Either way from the first few pages I was sucked into this world Westerfeld has created with Darwinist, Clankers, Beasties, and Walkers.

What I really liked about this book was something very subtle about Deryn’s story. It’s hinted early in the novel that Deryn’s family (including her mother) while not supporting her scheme,  have decided not to stop her. Even her own brother is helping her pretend to be a boy.

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Book Review : Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

October 7, 2011      1 Comment

“You had to want your mind to change. Maybe some people had always been pretty-headed, even back before the operation had been invented. Maybe some people were happier that way.”

– Scott Westerfeld, Pretties

Synopsis : Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she’s completely popular. It’s everything she’s ever wanted. But beneath all the fun — the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom — is a nagging sense that something’s wrong. Something important. . .Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life — because the authorities don’t intend to let anyone with this information survive.

The first book,Uglies taunted readers and Tally with the perfect bubbly world of New Pretty Town. Let’s face it we were all a little curious about what it was like to be a Pretty and Pretties does exactly that. Who doesn’t want to see what the champagne-swilling, party going, Jersey-shore like atmosphere is like first hand? Somehow at their bubbliest Westerfeld still made Tally and Shay almost likeable characters. This book explores the aftermath that ensues after the cure has been discovered.

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Book Review : Uglies

September 24, 2011      2 Comments

  “What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful.”

– Scott Westerfeld Uglies

Synopsis:  Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. Not for her license — for turning pretty. In Tally’s world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. . . But Tally’s new friend Shay isn’t sure she wants to be pretty. . . When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world — and it isn’t very pretty. 

Scott Westerfeld’s  Uglies is the first in a series of novels that asks the question; What is the cost of beauty? This dystopian novel takes place in a world were everyone is made to believe they are “ugly” until their sixteenth birthday, when the are tuned pretty via extensive plastic surgery.

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In My Mailbox Vol. 1

September 18, 2011      6 Comments

BAS is taking part in the In My Mailbox meme started by The Story Siren. Each week bloggers post books that have arrived in their mailbox, picked up from the bookstore or purchased. Here are some books I’m getting ready to read

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – I just got this one in the mail from Albiris

Extras by Scott Westerfeld – Grabbed this one from the used book store, can’t wait to finish the trilogy. I’m currently reading Specials.

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