The Strangers Outside - Vanessa Morgan

Kindle Edition

Published September 6th 2010

Two sisters, Jennifer and Louise, return to their remote holiday cabin after a day at the seaside. But little do they know they're being surrounded. Shortly after their arrival, the girls will come face to face with THE STRANGERS OUTSIDE. When the assailants make their intentions known, things take a shockingly terrible turn and an intense battle for survival will begin.


 
What a thrilling, chilling horror novel! Though small in size, this novel really does hit hard!
 
The Strangers Outside is all about two girls - sisters, on holiday. However shortly there, they discover that hooded figures are watching them. Morgan described them in such a way which sent shivers down my spine! This book was seriously creepy!
 
I especially loved the way she created the two sisters. Both were complete opposites, yet very alike. I would have liked a little more development with the characters, however I understand that this is only meant to be a short story.
 
The setting was perfect too. It was completely realistic which I loved, as it bought that sense of danger in the real world which added to the creepy-ness, and felt like the strangers  could be watching anyone - even YOU. *Points finger dramatically*
 
The ending was really shocking, and quite gory, and I shuddered while reading it! However I thought that Louise could have shown a little more emotion...
 
This was a really awesome short read, and I suggest fans of horror should really read this one. Many reviews have described Vanessa Morgan as a female Stephan King, and though not having read any of his works, by the sounds of things I couldn't agree more!
 
3.5/5 -- This was a seriously cool book so don't let this rating put you off. I only gave this book that rating as it was very short and lacked the details a normal long book needs, however all in all. GREAT!
 
But wait, that's not all...
 
Vanessa kindly bought to my attention this creepy movie adaption of the book. It is so cool, you HAVE to watch it! 
 

Perfect Chemistry - Simone Elkeles

Paperback, 360 pages

Published January 1st 2008 by Walker Books for Young Readers

A modern tale of star-crossed lovers with a fresh urban twist. At Fairfield High School, on the outskirts of Chicago, everyone knows that south-siders mixing with north-siders can be explosive. So when Brittany Ellis and Alejandro “Alex” Fuentes are forced to be lab partners in chemistry class, this human experiment leads to unexpected revelations – that Brittany ’s flawless reputation is a cover for her troubled home life, that Alex’s bad-boy persona hides his desire to break free from gang ties, and that when they’re together, life somehow makes more sense. Breaking through the stereotypes and expectations that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart, Perfect Chemistry takes readers to both sides of the tracks in a passionate love story about looking beneath the surface.

I have a special place in my heart for this book, it is magnificent.
The plot is completely real, and deals with real life issues such as gang members, and things that go on inside gangs. At times some of the issues were terrifying, and my heart really goes out to Alex for putting up with some of the horrible stuff that went on.


Brittany Ellis had everything she could want, a boyfriend, a nice house, riches and clothes. Alex Fuentes doesn't. He has to earn his living by performing horrible deeds to a gang which he has been forced into.


To me, this novel is basically about opposites and how we as humans, can get over stereo-types.


I love how Elkeles has portrayed each character. Brittany seems like she has absolutely everything, when really under the surface, her life is crumbling under the pressure of trying to be perfect, and we actually learn that her character is much more complex than we originally thought.


This was a brilliant Y.A romance, I mean really really extraordinary.


Her writing is amazing! Smooth, real and full of raw emotion.
I need more Elkeles, I really do.


An absolute 5/5

Gifted: Out of sight, Out of mind - Marilyn Kaye

Paperback, 222 pages

Published February 2nd 2009 by Kingfisher Books Ltd (first published 2009)


Amanda Beeson is Queen Bee at Meadowbrook Middle School.

If you're not friends with Amanda, you're nobody.
But one morning gorgeous, popular Amanda Beeson looks in the mirror and sees a very different face staring back at her. The Queem Bee is about to get a taste of life in someone else's shoes.

Amanda has a secret. She's GIFTED.
And she's not the only one . . .

For me this novel was mediocre.


I felt that this novel had a great concept, and I kept thinking that it was going to get better but in the end it just didn't.
First of all I found Amanda the main character was just very, no, extremely irritating. She was one of those typical Y.A mean girl type of characters only 1000 times worse.
Second of all, she DID NOT learn from her experiences.


*SPOILER ALERT* All of the time when she was inside Tracey's body, she kept on whining about how bad her situation was and that she wished she could be herself again and be a nice person, however by the end of the novel she was just back to her old mean ways!


One thing I did like about this novel, it would be the fun of exploring each characters special powers of GIFTS, as they call it. Yet Kaye didn't really delve deeper into their emotions, even if the novel is only supposed to be focused on Amanda. I did appreciate getting a good insight into Jenna's character though.


The ending was the big crasher though. It all built up to this climax, which I thought would finally bring some excitement to this novel. I was wrong.


Again *SPOILER ALERT* All the 'villain' wanted to know was the winning lottery numbers! I mean come on, are you serious?


Overall, I was fairly disappointed with this novel, from its lack of characterization, to the almost joke ending. I did enjoy learning about Jenna, but that was probably, if not, all.
Sorry Marilyn, but this novel just isn't up to some of the standards in other books.


2/5