Scookie Reviews

THE ASTONISHING COLOUR OF AFTER by Emily X.R. Pan 4 Stars Verdict : A synesthesiastic tale of dealing with loss. When Leigh's mother commits suicide, she visits Leigh as a bright red bird. Leigh follows her mother's memories to Taiwan to meet her grandparents for the first time and to try to understand her mother's passing. For a book so sad, it's very colourful. Leigh often shares her emotions as colours and it works very well, especially as the book travels through a whole river of emotions. It shows a battle lost, families broken, and the dark struggles of depression through the lives of Leigh and her family. To anyone affected by depression and suicide, this book contains those triggers. I felt it handled these themes with tender care and respect, without glamorising suicide or mental illness. The author also went to great lengths to portray a single instance of depression, and even clarifies at the end note that the story isn't mean to explain away d...

UPROOTED by Naomi Novik 3 Stars Verdict: The intrigue vanished into an endless battle. Agnieszka lives in the valley on the boarder of the corrupted Wood, a forest with evil roots, full of malevolent creatures. The Wood is merciless, taking whoever it wants and twisting them into vessels to carry out its bidding. The only thing stopping the Wood from taking over her valley is the cold wizard, known as the Dragon. In exchange for his help, a young woman is handed over to serve him for ten years, usually the most beautiful, talented, and brave girl within the village. Agnieszka never expects to be chosen. At first I was afraid, I was petrified. Kept thinking I would never leave this lovely book aside. But then it spent so many words describing skirts and dirt and song, and I grew bored. And I struggled to read on. More seriously, I found the book slow from start to end, but I enjoyed the first half because I wanted to know more about the evil Woods and the mysterious Dragon. W...

SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo 5 Stars Verdict: Absolutely fantastic, brimming with character. Kaz Brekker, criminal mastermind known as Dirtyhands because he'll accept any job, no matter how bad, is offered the heist of a lifetime. Save a scientist from the Ice Court, receive millions. To pull it off, he hires a crew of misfits desperate enough to risk their lives on an impossible task. In case you don't know, I wasn't a fan of the last Grisha series. The characters bugged me, the pace slowed, and I didn't enjoy what happened. But I loved the concept and Grisha world. This book takes the same world and injects life into it. The characters are real and lovable, the story is fast and original, and the world-building is stronger than ever before. The third person narrative is split between Kas, Inej, Jesper, Nina, and Matthias, which helps keeps the story churning with emotions. I didn't have a favourite character to gush over, I loved them all, and can...

GRAVE MISTAKE by Izzy Shows 4 Stars Verdict: A generic supernatural world discovered by a not-so-generic lady. Blair is skint, which is why she sometimes pretends to be a PI. This time her client is nuts, thinking her husband is having an affair with a ghost. Blair investigates his disappearance as a non-believer, but stumbles across a whole world of urban supernatural magic that quickly changes her mind. Blair has a strong voice filled with attitude, and it brings the whole story to life. She's not laugh out loud funny, but I smirked from time to time reading her references and slick word choices. She's damaged and insure, but strong too. Every so often, a line would really hit the nail on the head too, but overall, the writing style is quite relaxed and voice driven, rather than beautiful or vivid. The world building isn't exactly innovative. You've got your Wizard/mage/witch cult, a vampire society, mention of werewolves and demons, and other general super...

THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner 4 Stars Verdict: Better the second time around. #2 - The Scorch Trials #3 - The Death Cure Thomas wakes up in a strange glade with no memory but a sense of familiarity. He's surrounded by 60 other boys and an unsolvable maze filled with deadly beasts called grievers. The rest of the boys have survived in the glade for over two years, but when Thomas arrives, everything changes. It's the beginning of the end, unless they can solve the maze. I read this when I was still a teenager in 2011, and straight after I finished Hunger Games. It wasn't as good so I marked it as 3 stars, but after reading another 100 books, I think this is more than deserving of a higher rating. The mystery is intense. I couldn't remember the book very well, which put me in the same situation as Thomas - a feeling that I've been here before, but can't remember who to trust or how to solve their situation. Like last time, I felt sorry for the way...