Article 5 review

Description: New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

My thoughts: I have such mixed feelings about this book. Overall it was good. It starts strong, and when I thought it’d get boring the author would throw something crazy in the mix. And what I can say about this book is that it is intense, and a lot happens. Ember wants to find her mother. Chase may or may not want to help her. And the story unfolds in a world where a corrupt government rules an oppressed people.

What lowered my overall impression of the story is that there was so much I didn’t understand. Like, I know the government is all kinds of messed up, but there’s almost always a particular antagonist the hero of the story goes after.  Where is he or she? No one ever talked about it. And after reading the end of the book, I don’t understand where the series is going. I’m assuming they want to overthrow the government, but a lot was happening and that specific goal was never fully discussed.

Even with all these questions, the fact that I’m still wondering about these things lets me know I’m hooked enough to the characters to want to know more. I just hope the second book can answer these questions. If it can, I’ll definitely be happy about the series.

I Hunt Killers review

Description: What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could--from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret--could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

My thoughts: Thanks to me attempting to watch the first 4 seasons of Dexter in these last few months, I’ve definitely been more open to books like I Hunt Killers. Because more than likely, if I didn’t discover that I liked shows like Dexter, I probably wouldn’t have been open to reading about the son of a serial killer.

What helped me the most when I actually started the book was that it gets right to the action. There’s no boring opening. Everything happens for a reason, and there are no random scenes where nothing happens so it drags until the last few pages. And what was fun about this book was that I was so determined to figure out who the killer was before Jazz did. Seriously. Like, this was my new goal in life… But like a lot of people who’ve read this, I missed all the clues completely. And despite my hurt pride, not knowing whom the killer was just made everything a lot more exciting. 

One thing that did concern me half way through was that I thought I’d stop liking Jazz. He’s charming and smart and cunning, but he whines a lot. I’m not saying he doesn’t have reason to whine. He REALLY does. But having him repeatedly voice his fears about becoming his father was starting to get to me. This is where Connie comes in (thank God). Who’s Connie? Jazz’s awesome girlfriend, that’s who she is! She puts him in his place, which is exactly what he needs. Of course he also has his best friend to keep him sane throughout the crazy that is this case.

And speaking of the case, I thought it’d be the most difficult thing Jazz would have to deal with.  Then I get to the last chapter or so and something totally unexpected happens, which justifies the reason for this being the first book in a series. This next book is going to (have to) be on a whole different level. And judging from the last couple of pages, Jazz means serious business, so it should be awesome!

Side note: Although I referenced Dexter, Jazz is not one of those people who have to fake emotion and have the need to kill people… Which is nice. :)