Unearthly- Book Review

*Hey Guys! This is my third book review! This has probably been my favorite to write so far! Hope you like it!*

Unearthly- Book Review

by Madison Mullins

       Author: Cynthia Hand is the author of Unearthly, Hallowed, Radiant (a novella), and Boundless. Her new book, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, will be released on February 10, 2015. Cynthia Hand grew up in Southern Idaho. She now lives with her husband and son in South California and Idaho. She teaches creative writing at Pepperdine University. You can find her at: www.cynthiahandbooks.com

      Summary: Clara Gardner is part angel. The official title is “Angel Blood”. She wants to be a normal girl; but is the exact opposite. She has blond hair, she is tall, and basically talented at everything (except fly-fishing). Although she is talented, she must keep those talents a secret. Clara has visions, as every angel blood has at some point in their life time. Those visions reveal part of their “purpose”. In her visions, she gets a glimpse of a license plate. Next thing she knows, she is moving away from all her friends in California and moving to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In her visions, there is a boy. (surprise, surprise.) She finally meets this boy at her new school. Well, she meets him, and then proceeds to faint. His name is Christian Prescott. The hottest, most drop-dead gorgeous boy and not to mention the popular boy of the entire school. Then, she meets Angela. Angela turns out to be an angel blood too. Angela loves studying and finding anything about angels as much as she can. They soon become very good friends. She is constantly thinking about her purpose and figuring out the vision. Her mom won't tell her much. However, over school break, basically everyone leaves. Christian went to New York, Angela went to Italy to visit family, Wendy (her BFF) goes to a veterinarian school, and her mom goes on a business trip. On her birthday, there is a surprise. Tucker Avery, Wendy's twin brother, is “loaned” to her for the week. He takes her to Yellow Stone, swimming, fishing...she isn't as focused on her “purpose”. As the story goes on, feelings get mixed up, and her purpose starts becoming a reality; and the vision begins to happen.

       Review: As before, this is definitely one of my favorite books/series. Unearthly is written in first person, so we really get to know Clara on a deeper level. The book is very well written. You never feel overwhelmed or confused. You might not quite understand something, but later in the book/series you understand. Unearthly is a very clean book. There is quite a bit of kissing/making out; but nothing trashy or inappropriate. I would recommend this book for ages 12/13 and up. It is on a teenage reading level and 435 pages. I love this book! You grow so close to the characters and feel apart of the story. I have read it about 6 times, and will read it many times more. It is one of those books I couldn't put down and never get tired of. Hope you go check it out!! - Madison Mullins, a.k.a. The Book Nerd.

Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula Book Review

*Hey Book Nerds! Here is my second book review! Hope y'all like it! All opinions are my own!!!!!!*

Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula

Book Review

by Madison Mullins

       Elise Stokes: Elise Stokes is the author of all four Cassidy Jones books. She is living with her four children and her husband. She was formerly an elementary school teacher but is now a full time stay at home mom/author.

      Summary: Cassidy Jones is a normal girl with a twin and younger brother. Her dad is the famous news caster and now interviews select individuals. Her life is as normal as any other 14 year old girl until, one day she goes with her father to Professor Selena Phillips' lab/office for an interview. As the interview is progressing, she slips off the stool she was sitting on, hits her head, and spills a mixture of chemicals. The gash in her head is huge. However, by the time they get her to the ER, it is merely a surface wound. The next morning, everything is turned upside down. There is no sign of her fall the day before, she can jump 40 feet high in the air, run at extreme speeds, and lift 2,000 pounds. Definitely not normal.

She finds out that the Professor, the only way to get answers, had been kidnapped. Her mom generously lets Professor Phillips' son, Emery, come stay with them. Emery is a 15 year old boy who, has already graduated with degree in molecular biology. She finally trusts him enough to tell him about her abilities. No one else knows but him. He explains what has happened to her. For he knew what was in those chemicals she inhaled. Emery goes to school with Cassidy and her twin brother, Nate, pretending to be a normal teenage boy. Emery, who has learned from his father, an “accountant”, how to pick locks, handle a gun, and more. Together they try to use Cassidy's “powers” and Emery's smarts to find his mom. They end up getting tangled up in much more than they originally thought; and running into more danger than they thought was there....

     Review: First off, I would like to say that I have read this book 15 times! It is one of my top favorites! At first I thought it sounded cheesy, but let me tell you! It wasn't! It was very well written; and had me excited the whole way through. I couldn't put it down. Even reading it now, for the 15^th time, I couldn't put it down. When Cassidy finds out about her “powers” she does what any 14 year old girl would do, freak out! As she forms this friendship with Emery Phillips, she learns to control it a little better; and you can see her growth. Emery is such an amazing character. He thinks and acts like an adult, which gets him in trouble. In this book, you can really relate to the characters, not the turning into mutants part, lol, but the other problems they deal with. It is a great book I have recommended for so many people! I would approve this book for people ages 11/12 and up. There is no language or anything inappropriate. As I said before, one of my favorite books! There are four at the moment in the series; and I have read all of them! Hope you check them out and enjoy them as much as I have!

-Madison Mullins

*Sorry this one is so short! I didn't have as much time this week to work!*

Blood of Olympus Book Review

*Hey Guys! I know I said that I would do my first book review on Paper Towns by John Green. However, Blood of Olympus came out on October 7 and I HAD to read it. I admit, I cried and fangirled a ton in this book (not all sad tears.) I figured it would be okay to start with this book instead. THESE OPINIONS ARE ALL MY OWN.*

Blood Of Olympus Book Review

By Madison Mullins

Rick Riordan: Rick Riordan is the author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the Heroes of Olympus series (the sequel series to Percy Jackson), the Kane Chronicle, and next fall his new series on Norse mythology called Magnus Chase. Rick Riordan prefers to write in first person. The person telling the story varies throughout the chapters. He lives in Boston with his wife and two sons. He is also a New York Times #1 Best Selling Author.

Summary: Picking up right where it left off in the House of Hades, Jason, Piper, and Annabeth wearing disguises, raid in on an evil spirit gathering, while Percy, Jason, Leo, Hazel, and Frank are back on the Argo 11. During this time, Coach Hedge, Reyna, and Nico are shadow traveling and transporting the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood. Fighting never stopping and taking dangerous risks throughout the way. The gods are having an even harder time separating from Greek to Roman. The Crew is hurrying to stop Gaea from rising and destroying the world. The Prophesy is revealed and is beginning to come true:

“Seven Half-Bloods shall answer the call,

through storm or fire the world must fall,

An Oath to keep with a final breath,

and foes bear arms through the doors of death."

As time goes on the final battle begins and Greeks and Romans either join forces or destroy themselves.

Review: In the Blood of Olympus, the character development is one of the best I have ever seen/read in my entire life! Frank begins to grown into his new body, and mature. Annabeth and Percy grow so close which was amazing!  Annabeth also is constantly being haunted by terrors she had experienced in Tartarus. However, Piper comes out of her shell and they grow closer together as friends. They give each other support the whole time, which is great to see. Jason is forced to remember his past and his mother; and must decide who he will be. Percy and Jason experience similar circumstances as Annabeth and Piper. They grew closer and learned from each other, instead of fighting and showing off, they worked together for once.

      Now, I want to tell you about Nico. He has come so far and has gone through so much pain and suffering. From his sisters death, through Tartarus by himself, through so much, yet he still sacrifices and does whatever it takes to help/save his friends. Nico and Reyna develop a close relationship which brings out a different side of Nico than we are used to seeing. Reyna trusts Nico with her biggest fear and secret. He handles it very well and even gives her advice. Yes, NICO, of all people, gave her advice and help. Throughout the story, Nico begins to trust her as well. He tells her things he didnt think he could tell anyone. Whenever Reyna was injured, Nico was the first to react, same the other way. We see him turn from this young boy full of hurt to a young man who overcomes his pain. He really matures and becomes a leader. Nico also sees how much they rely and care for him. He didn't really understand how much he meant to them until this book. His character development impacted the story and me the most.

We get to see a lot from Reyna. We see her backstory, and her struggles. She was a HUGE impact on the story and changed a lot about what I thought of her. I never really gave her much thought or credit, but that has changed so much because of this book.

          In this book, you see the story we all love, finish. It was a great finale to the series. Everything from the beginning began to make sense and click together. On page 393 Rick Riordan dropped a few hints about his upcoming Norse Mythology series, Magnus Chase, who by what I am understanding is Annabeth's cousin! (Insert fangirling).  Blood of Olympus is very appropriate. There is very little if at all language. It deals with some painful and deep topics which younger children will probably not understand. I would recommend this book/series for children over the age of 12, however, I would suggest waiting until after they have studied Greek Mythology to read these books. I really only have one negative opinion to say about this book, which is; that Percy didn't have a POV chapter. I love seeing things from his perspective and we didn't get that in Blood Of Olympus. Overall, it was an amazing book which I will recommend to others. I have to say it is in my top 5 all time favorites.

*Thanks for reading! Don't forget to come back soon and see new book reviews!! -Madison Mullins (aka The Book Nerd.)*

Welcome to The Book Nerd!

Hello Fellow Book Nerds! I am Madison, a huge book fanatic! I am constantly getting asked about the books I have read; and my thoughts on them. So, I decided to start this blog dedicated to book reviews. There will be other things posted on this blog, however, they will all be book related. My first book review will be on John Green's Paper Towns. The review will be up sometime next week. Since I am in High School, my schedule is very busy; so I will not be setting a strict schedule. Thanks for stopping by! If you want so see more of my blog, please subscribe by email (I will not be able to get your information) and follow my blog. Thanks so much! - Madison