Review: Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

Title: Rites of Passage
Author: Joy N. Hensley
Published: September 9, 2014
Pages: 416
Series: (Unknown but possibly)
Source: purchased

Goodreads summary: Sam McKenna’s never turned down a dare. And she's not going to start with the last one her brother gave her before he died.

So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty...no matter how much she wants him.

As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active… and determined to force her out.
At any cost.

Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust...and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences.

**REVIEW**

IMPRESSION
I don't think the title, cover, or synopsis makes the story justice, whatsoever. I would've easily passed up on this. The depth, tension, and strength of this book doesn't come across in the summary. The mention of "a dare" and "dating" made this sound like another contemporary novel with a female protagonist in an unfavorable situation, crushing on someone off-limits.

Nothing prepared me for the intense, captivating, enthralling ride. I read it in one sitting until the wee hours of the morning, wide awake despite exhaustion prior to turning that first page. And I was exhausted when I finished, in a really good way. The happy, pumped sort of exhaustion.

STORY
This is a military book and I loved the crap out of it.

Sam is one of the first female students ever at the military academy, and the reality is harsh. Really harsh. There are continuous reasons to turn the page as fast as you can and root for her. You'll get attached to characters. You'll learn a whole lot.
And maybe (if you're in that state of mind) you'll even, sort of, not really, definitely not (wouldn't survive a day) wish you were there because you'd want to meet that hopelessly crush-worthy guy.

CHARACTERS
Sam is a force of determination, bravery, and courage. I sat on needles for her through many parts and I'm stunned how a character can make me so insanely, inexplicably proud. I admire her to no end.

There wasn't one uncertain character. Everyone had their own impact, their own place, their own voice. The character were well-written and memorable. Even the characters you despised you enjoyed reading about, because they were believable.
I especially appreciated the raw, shaky friendship between Sam and the girls, and Sam's authentic relationship with the boys. Kelly, Drill, Rev, Jonathan, Amos, Huff, and more... love 'em guys.

A thank you to Hensley for writing this fantastic book.

My one and only question mark, to those who've read the book, I didn't quite understand why Sam was the chosen victim. Why her specifically from day one? Why were they hardest on her even before she'd proven to be "an issue"?

(5/5)

Review: Losing Logan by Sherry D. Ficklin

Title: Losing Logan
Author: Sherry D. Ficklin
Published: May 2, 2014
Pages: 230
Source: purchased

Goodreads Summary: What if the one thing you never meant to hold on to, is the one thing you can’t let go of?

Normally finding a hot guy in her bedroom wouldn’t irritate Zoe so badly, but finding her childhood friend Logan there is a big problem. Mostly because he’s dead. 

As the only person he can make contact with, he talks Zoe into helping him put together the pieces surrounding his mysterious death so he can move on. 

Thrust into his world of ultra popular rich kids, Zoe is out of her element and caught in the cross-hairs of Logan’s suspicious ex-girlfriend and the friends he left behind, each of whom had a reason to want him dead. The deeper they dig to find the truth, the closer Zoe gets to a killer who would do anything to protect his secrets. And that’s just the start of her problems because Zoe is falling for a dead guy.

**REVIEW**

How crazy good it feels to give 'Losing Logan' its five stars.

First off, I want to say that the story isn't depressing, it's actually strangely heartwarming. I smiled a lot while reading it and chuckled at the impressively witty banter. Secondly, what you won't learn from the premise is that 'Losing Logan' has so much emotion. The plot is simple but the soul of the book is all intertwined.

Zoe was relatable, authentic, and independent. She was sassy and snarky in the most humorous ways. We learn that Zoe and Logan were childhood friends but drifted apart once Logan became popular and Zoe did not. This sounds like the typical case of "you turned popular, I turned geek" and I highly appreciate Ficklin for not making Zoe such a character - she was the total opposite, fearlessly awesome but closed-off.

Logan was like a rock in the story, which is ironic since he's dead and the one depending on Zoe. Though, somehow she ends up needing him just as much. His character radiated a sense of warmth and calmness. I definitely grew attached to him, to the point that I wanted to pause in the middle of the book and write Ficklin to beg her to re-write the plot and have Logan come to life again. I mean, it could happen.

The absolutely hilarious and frustrating banter between the two won me over from the start. I couldn't stress how much I loved it.

I read 'Losing Logan' in one sitting, not only caught up by the characters but by the plot line and mystery surrounding Logan's death. There were little surprises here and there, for sure. I did manage to predict the killer (not because of the clues, but my own logic just asking why this person was there in the story at all.)

What isn't mentioned in the premise is the reaper following Zoe or Logan around, which was quite creepy and suspenseful. I was a little disappointed how everything turned out and ended up having a few questions about it (mostly just: well, why?)
I guess I'd been hoping for a crazy sub-plot. The ending was a tad unsatisfying and rushed. I would've loved a few more pages with Zoe and Logan, just to round everything out. The epilogue, however, almost-maybe made up for it.

There is a love triangle and I think Ficklin's execution of it was utterly beautiful. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

'Losing Logan' was fun, mysterious, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. I laughed, I cried, I fell in love.

(5/5)

Review: Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter

Title: Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls #5)

Author: Ally Carter

Published: March 13, 2012

Pages: 336

Series: Gallagher Girls

Source: purchased

Good to know: best series I've ever read

Amazon Summary: The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan—an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers that months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.

Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

**REVIEW**

(First installment: ‘I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have to Kill You’)

 I’ve held off writing this review. I’ve been a loyal reader of the ‘Gallagher Girls’ series since the beginning, book one, five years ago. And for every installment Carter achieves a new level of awesomeness and quality. As I expressed in the collected review of the four previous installments: the books are crazy brilliant, Carter is a freaking genius.

 Words can barely describe how amazing I find the story-developing as well as storytelling of these books. Carter never ceases to impress me.

 ‘Out of Sight, Out of Time’ or GG5 did not disappoint, because that’s impossible. As always Carter knows her way around suspense and action. Only the first few chapters I couldn’t believe how much had happened - I found myself to be repeatedly surprised by occurrences, sometimes physically gaping.

Where GG4 left off, Cammie was to run away by herself to find answers and Carter had been clear about Cammie being alone on this journey which I hadn’t known what to make of. How would the story go with Cammie being on her own? But of course Carter knows what she’s doing and there’s no way she’ll exclude Liz, Bex, Macy, and Zach (that would be crazy).

The energy in GG5 is different, this time Cammie’s the one who’s the mystery. The focus is on her and the things she went through the months she was gone but forgotten about. The fact that Cammie suffered from amnesia bothered me but also served as the main reason why I so rapidly flipped the pages. Her journey will have you on the edge of your seat. I found myself with chills, a pounding heart, suspensful. But also sad.

Even though I know it didn’t and wouldn’t have suited at all in the story that was being told in GG5, I just generally missed Carter’s humor. Though, what really dissatisfied me was the Cammie-Zach situation. It was so absent and emotionless. Again, considering the circumstances in the book, yeah, I get it. But still! For most of the book I wasn’t even sure if they felt anything for each other anymore.

 One thing’s for sure, Carter will have you glued until the end. GG6, I’ll be waiting for you.

(4.5/5)