Showing posts with label hickey of the beast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hickey of the beast. Show all posts

Friday, April 22, 2011

[The Teen Book Scene Blog Tour] Tens List: Hickey of the Beast by Isabel Kunkle

Today I am hosting Isabel on our blog again for her Top Ten Favorite Places to Relax!

I don't know about you but since its the Easter break all I want to do is relax, go to the beach, grab my Kindle or a book and just bask into the awesomeness of the written word. Isabel shares her list to us, so please help me in welcoming her back on Amaterasu Reads!

Favorite Places to Relax:

1. In front of the computer.

This is certainly the most common one. I'm a twenty-first century girl, and have just about everything on my PC: movies via Netflix, books on ereaders, connections with friends via the Internet, and so on.

2. In bed.

There's nothing like lying down and pulling the covers over your head. Especially if it's rainy or windy outside. Sleeping in on a rainy day is one of the things I miss most about not going to work.

3. In a bathtub.

A hot bath, a good book, and I'm pretty much set. I like the water hotter than most people do—I have been accused, at various points, of trying to boil myself alive—and some scented bath beads from time to time.

4. In a hotel room somewhere.

Hotel rooms rock. For one thing, I love to travel: any problems I have seem much smaller once they're a couple cities away. For another, a hotel room lets you relax as per bath, and as per bed, plus you get free cable and room service.

5. At my parents' house.

No room service, but home cooking, cable, and good company. My family's a bunch of introverts, so there are a lot of great evenings where we're just hanging out together, all of us reading or watching TV or whatever. Which isn't to say we don't talk, but we don't feel the need to talk all the time. It's great.

6. On a beach.

Basking in the sun is just one of many, many unhealthy things I enjoy. ;) I always do use sunblock, though, and I never really try to get a tan. It's just great to lie down, dig my toes into the sand, and fall asleep in the sunlight.

7. At the salon.

Massages. Foot massages. Someone else washing my hair. All of these are wonderful things. Plus, I come out looking better—bonus!

8. At a friend's house.

Really, most places with friends. The advantage of being at a friend's house is that you can just sprawl around, indulging in whatever forms of entertainment come to hand, and not worrying about the people at the next table or the shrieking baby ten feet away.

9. On a train.

I love to travel, as I mentioned. Absolutely love it. I'm not crazy about flying, though—which is why trains and buses make me happy. I can read, I can stare out the window and listen to music, or I can fall asleep and wake up three states over.

10. At the library.

Books! Books that I will never have to put into boxes should I move again. (Sixteen moves in ten years, people: that kind of thing leaves a mark.) Moreover, tables at which I can sit and read books, assuming I don't just camp out in the aisles. Libraries rock.

Thanks, Isabel! I dunno about you but I laughed tons while I was reading this post. And woah, 16 MOVES IN TEN YEARS?! My family and I moved a lot (I switched schools 4 times during elementary) but Isabel's just tops mine!

Don't forget to check out my review of HICKEY OF THE BEAST!

Monday, April 4, 2011

[The Teen Book Scene Blog Tour] Review: Hickey of the Beast by Isabel Kunkle

A serialized novel.

I have to admit I haven't read a book in serialized format, and that's one of the things that made me want to read the book. Sadly, I got this in an e-book format, and in full, so the experience isn't the same as when it's serialized.

Title: Hickey of the Beast by Isabel Kunkle
Pages: 302
Release Date: March 2011
Published by: Candlemark & Gleam
Source: Tour / Teen Book Scene
Buy: Candlemark & Gleam

Summary (from Goodreads):

Connie thought freshman year might suck. She never thought it’d be literal.

Bad dreams? No big deal. After all, Connie Perez is starting her first year in the prep school her mom runs. Anyone would be a little stressed, right? When she starts dreaming about strange creatures and places that don’t make sense, she doesn’t think much about it: there’s other stuff on her mind. Then she starts noticing that the people she dreams about get sick right afterwards.

Then everything gets weird.

There’s something bad on the campus of Springden Academy. Something that feeds on students and warps their minds. And, as Connie and her friends try to figure out what’s going on, it starts to look like she’s the only one who can stop it.

Freshman year was hard enough without having to fight evil after class.
Hickey of the Beast is written as a sort of a letter to Connie's friend, Amanda. And boy was that a long letter.

Though I don't think that freshmen girls should be speaking like Connie does, I couldn't help but liking the fact that the entire story was written through her POV. She's got a very interesting life, if you ask me, filled with interesting opinions about anything and everything. I do think she's a fun character to read about! The way Connie has written that letter for Amanda made me feel as if she was speaking to me in a personal, funny way.

Being the daughter of the person in charge of everything, the principal, made Connie's freshman year in Springden interesting (and awkward, mostly), but it took a deadly turn when someone started doing something to the students. And no, it's not human. Then Connie realizes that maybe she's the only one who can stop it before all 300 students of Springden dies.

Connie, Autumn and Jenny are like the Charlie's Angels in Springden. They hunt incubus after school, and the way they do it is really entertaining, especially with all the misfortunes that always manage to befall on Connie. They're quirky, and a bunch of fun people who made Hickey of the Beast's story lively and entertaining.

The story was predictable, even dragging at times, but I guess it could have been a little more mysterious had I read this when it was published as a "serial novel", revealing pieces of the story chapter by chapter, like waiting an anticipating for TV show episodes to air every week. I do think that the way Hickey of the Beast was written and will be best enjoyed using that method.

Cute, fun and normal. I wouldn't say that this book is stellar, but it's not a total waste of time to read. Give it a try, you might like it!

My rating

Content (plot, story flow, character):


Okay: Liked, but The Goddess demands more!

Book Cover:

Yes - The Goddess Approves!