Book Blog #9 : Eon by Alison Goodman

Title: Eon: Dragoneye Reborn
Author: Alison Goodman
# of Pages: 531 (hardback)
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Adventure
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Also Known As: Two Pearls of Wisdom, Eon: Rise of the Dragoneye, and Eon (All the same book just published with different publishers) Eon has been studying the ancient art of Dragon Magic for four years, hoping he'll be able to apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. But he also has a dark secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been living a dangerous lie for the chance to become a Dragon-eye, the human link to an energy dragon's power. It is forbidden for females to practice the Dragon Magic and, if discovered, Eon faces a terrible death. After a dazzling sword ceremony, Eon's affinity with the twelve dragons catapults him into the treacherous world of the Imperial court, where he makes a powerful enemy, Lord Ido. As tension builds and Eon's desperate lie comes to light, readers won't be able to stop turning the pages...

Review: I decided to try writing this review in portions again (but published all at once). So I'm sorry if it gets a little confusing; it's the only thing I can think of doing to get all of my thoughts about this book in one review.


3/25/13

The cover is probably one of the more interesting covers I have seen. The Chinese(?) characters, the talons, it's all pretty cool. But the eye in the "O" is kinda creepy. I'm not exactly sue of what to make of it. Like, I don't really know what it's showing.

Pages 1-60

I'm a little confused about the whole Dragoneye thing, but I hope I will understand as I read on. The large amount of content that needs to be explained is a little concerning; I'm not sure if the author is going to be able to get to it all. But I'll just have to wait and see.

Pages 61-130

"'Mirror Dragoneye?' I repeated? 'But I'm just a candidate.' 'Yes, there was some resistance in the Dragoneye Council due to your youth and inexperience, but after much debate they have recognized your position.' She paused, her wide mouth quirking up for a second. 'You are now Coascendant Dragoneye with Lord Ido.' I stared at her. 'Coascendant Dragoneye? But I'm just a candidate...'

Okay, we get it. Eon (I'm just going to refer to Eon/a as Eon, since switching in between names is confusing) is just a candidate. No need to tell me twice. This has been the first thing in this book that has bugged me. You'd think that the author, the editor, SOMEONE, would have caught that!

3/26/13

Pages 131-200

I don't know why, but Eon's conversation with Lady Jila about friendship made me really annoyed. I think it's because, in a way, she used Lady Jila to compliment her own character.

Pages 200-300

Why is it that Eon starts crying when he can't read the book? It's almost like accepting defeat when there is still (OBVIOUSLY) hope. He gives up too easily.

How many times am I going to have to say this? DO NOT DRINK THE MYSTERIOUS LIQUID!!! You'd think that with so many enemies, Eon and Brannon would be more on guard about what they eat and drink. Especially since they are getting it from a servant. It doesn't matter if they say it comes from a friend, if you have determined enemies they will find a way to get to that drink and to you.

3/27/13

Pages 301-End

Now with the book finished, I have mixed feelings. I found that the journey from the Rat Dragon Hall back to the castle was very confusing. Half of the time, there was so much fighting (or whatever was going on), I couldn't understand what they were doing, where they were doing it, and why. But after all of that confusion, the events that unfolded were mind-blowing. And to find out that the Mirror Dragon was a female! But the very end was a little disappointing. The cliffhanger fell a little flat for me. I think it could have been executed better. It didn't leave me screaming "I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS OR ELSe!!!!" But, oh well.

What I really felt was missing from this book was background development. I don't know if it's because I was lazy reading, but Eon's past is still confusing. And there are similarities with Mulan! The Chinese basis in both, the "boy is actually a girl" situation, it all shows similarities to Disney's Mulan. I know that it's hard to be original these days, but I fel the urge to point it out since it was so obvious. I defiantly think that this book was interesting enough, holding my attention. I recommend it!

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Book Blog #8 : Starters by Lissa Price

Title: Starters
Author: Lissa Price
# of Pages: 352 (hardback)
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER. 

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man. 

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

Review: Like usual, I'd like to talk about the cover. It has to be one of the creepiest beautiful cover I've ever seen. Her eyes look like they're staring into my soul, especially with that one blue eye.

At first, it really bugged me that her eyes were two different colors. But now I know it was suppose to be like the drawing Michael made of her. What I don't understand is why. Why did Michael draw her like that? What compelled him to make her eyes two different colors, other than for the artistic factor? There had to be something that made him do that, but it wasn't explained in the book.

And then there's that quote, made by the coauthor of Beautiful Creatures. Whenever Hunger Games is mentioned, I get suspicious. Why would fans of Hunger Games like this book? Is it because....THE AUTHOR'S A COPYCAT?!

Let's get to the story, shall we?

The Spore Wars

In the beginning, Callie makes this big deal about the spores and how they killed her parents, yada yada  , yada. And I guess there was this war where people released these spores on their enemy. But, besides the few times it was mentioned, I didn't hear anything about it at all. Our protagonist makes this big deal about it all, but nothing comes out of it. Why did the author create this war and the spores if they're not even that important? I feel like that should have been.

Similarities to The Hunger Games Trilogy and Uglies

Turns out there are similarities to other books! Let's compare.

Hunger Games/Starters

The main character is a female and is poor/the main character is female and is poor

Prim is the younger, weaker sibling/Tyler is the younger, weaker sibling

Katniss makes a sacrifice for Prim/Callie makes a sacrifice for Tyler

Katniss helps Peeta regain his memories/Callie helps Blake regain his memories

I'm not saying that Hunger Games is 100% original because it's not. But it's a comparison that people can relate to.

The author's ripped off Uglies too. You know the band-bounce thing? To me, it seemed strangely similar to bungee jackets, don't you think?

Lack of detail

The style of writing reminded me a lot of Ally Condie. There's was barely any detail of the character's emotion, facial expression, or how the characters do anything. For example, when someone (I forgot the person's name, that's how bad the book is. It's forgettable) told the guard to grab Callie. He grabbed her of course, by her arms, but there wasn't a description of what Callie did. Did she just stand there and allow herself to be taken, or did she put up a struggle? I guess I'll never know BECAUSE THE BOOK DIDN'T TELL ME!!!

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!

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