Book Review: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line

The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line (Veronica Mars #1)
Rob Thomas, Jennifer Graham
P.I. Mystery, Crime fiction
Published: March 25^th, 2014
5/5

 

                Ten years after graduating highschool in Neptune, California, Veronica Mars is back and in the land of sun, sand, crime and corruption. She’s traded in her law degree for her old private investigating license, struggling to keep Mars investigations afloat on the scant cash earned by catching cheating spouses until she can score her first big case.
                Now it’s spring break, and college students descend on Neptune, transforming the beaches and boardwalks into a frenzied, week-long rave. When a girl disappears from a party, Veronica is called in to investigate. But this is no simple missing person’s case. The house the girl vanished from belongs to a man with serious criminal ties, and organized crime. And when a major break in the investigation has a shocking connection to veronica’s past, the case hits closer to home than she ever imagined.

 

                Not going to lie to any of you, but I was extremely excited that Veronica Mars was turning into a novel series in fact I’m still extremely excited about it.
                Veronica Mars was an important character to me when I was younger, she was fierce independent, strong and didn’t require saving from some guy every five minutes. She was very inspirational to me when I was younger. Not to mention I thought it was pretty cool that she got to do so many ‘interesting’ things and when I was older I hoped I would be like her in high school too, which for obvious reasons didn’t happen and for more obvious reasons I’m very thankful.
                The novel takes place shortly after where the movie wrapped up. What was really enjoyable to me about this was that though minor plot points were spoiled in the book the major plot points of the movie were not discussed in too much detail. I had read the book before I had seen the movie and was very pleased to find that it did not ruin the movie for me at all and neither the movie nor the book really ruin the original plot line of the TV show either which is pretty amazing when you think about it.
                I thought they did a great job of transferring Veronica Mars from the screen to the pages of a book. They managed to keep her sarcastic, biting humour alive and fresh, and her character matched perfectly which the other medias.
                The progression of the plot was done well, I didn’t find myself getting bored and the story didn’t drag needlessly on. It’s very short, and sweet and written in the typical Veronica Mars style of crime solving. I didn’t find the story predictable or annoying which is great and sometimes a little hard to do when you’re writing a story based on crime.
                There were a few things about the novel that I didn’t like however. I felt pretty sad that Veronica Mars was still stuck in Neptune California, I had always imagined her moving on and being involved in the FBI as a criminal profiler or some kind of government investigator because she seemed to have such an obvious knack for her. I also was pretty put off by the arrival of her mother into the story, I’m not her biggest fan and I continue to still not like her or want her in Veronica’s life because I truly believe she is one of the most selfish characters in this series.
                The cover of the book also kind of makes me sad, it’s really simple and really, painfully boring. I don’t mind the font but the picture and word placement makes no sense to me and comes across as awkward. Plus I really, really dislike that shade of yellow.
                Over all really happy to see this series continue on and I am very excited to read book two when it comes out.
               

Book Review: The Humans

The Humans
Matt Haig
Science Fiction
Published: July 2^nd, 2013
5/5

                The bestselling, award-winning author of The Radleys is back with what may be his best, funniest, and most devastating dark comedy yet. When an extraterrestrial visitor arrives on Earth, his frist impressions of the human species are less than positive. Taking the form of Professor Andrew Martin, a prominent mathematician at Cambridge University, the visitor is eager to complete the gruesome task assigned him and hurry back home to the utopian world of his own planet, where everyone enjoys immortality and infinite knowledge
                He is disgusted by the way humans look, what they eat, and their capacity for murder and war, and he is equally baffled by the concepts of love and family. But as time goes on, he starts to realize there may be more to this weird species than he had been led to believe. Disguised as martin, he drinks wine, reads poetry, and develops an ear for rock music and a taste for peanut butter. Slowly, unexpectedly, he forges bonds with Martin’s family and in picking up the pieces of the professor’s shattered personal life, he begins to see hope and beauty in the humans’ imperfections and to question the mission that brought him there.
                Praised by The New York Times as a ‘novelist of great seriousness and talent,’ Matt Haig delivers an unlikely story about human nature and the joy found in the messiness of life on earth. The Humans is a funny, compulsively readable tale that playfully and movingly explores the ultimate subject – ourselves.

 

The Humans was a delightful surprise for me. I had not heard much discussion about the book in the community that I’m involved with online but I found the synopsis intriguing. An Alien takes over the body of a mathematics professor that has just solved the most important Mathematical question to humanity to date. He is expected to destroy all evidence and halt the advancement of humanity. However, along the way he begins to develop a sort of infatuation with humanity and strives to discover what exactly it means to be ‘human.’
               I thought that the character development of the unnamed Alien was fascinating and refreshing. I really enjoyed seeing him grow and to begin to question what he thought he knew. Despite the advancement of his society the primitive nature of human emotions stumped him and the social queues often left him quite confused.
                The humans is extremely funny and entertaining, the chapters are very short and that makes it really easy to read in short bursts. The story also gets quite dark at times, and I felt that helped counteract the unrealistic nature of some of the scenes.
                Overall this was an insightful, touching and completely original story. I’m extremely happy I took a chance with a book that I had not heard much about and I am greatly looking forward to reading more books written by Matt Haig.

Book Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Holly Black
YA Horror, Vampire
Published: 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
4/5

                Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. Once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.
                One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.
                The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly black.

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                The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is one of the best young adult vampire fiction novels that I’ve ever read. Original and free-spirited, Holly Black weaves a believable world, with engaging and fascinating creatures and characters.
                The Vampires and Humans in this book are cruel, twisted and make sense. They’re not here for the greater good and none of the Vampires see Humans as anything beyond a tasty snack or a form of entertainment. Holly Black stays true to the true nature of Vampires and does not fluff them up, or make them seem as though they are vulnerable. They are dark, nasty and they will kill you if they’re given the opportunity. There disregard for the life of humanity is right on the spot and leaves you with your bones chilled straight through.
                I thought Tana made a good lead character, I wouldn’t say that she was great as I found some of her actions to be a little too risky for someone that has lived in the constant shadow and fear of a race of Humans that are entirely something else once they’ve been turned and quite honestly even before they’ve been turned. I did however; find it refreshing to have a strong main character, one that wasn’t completely dependent on anyone but herself. She has her own horror stories that leak out into her character and because of that some of her reactions seem a little to forced and not quite believable, however I still found her engaging, lively and interesting enough to keep the novel interesting.
                There wasn’t a whole lot of world building however that’s expected when you have a stand-alone novel. I’m extremely thankful as well that this is a standalone novel as the ending was quite open and you get to draw your own conclusions and ideas in regards to what happens to everyone who is still alive (Or undead) next. In all honesty I haven’t read a standalone novel in so long that left me feeling satisfied, however it does seem to me that if she were wanting to write a second novel in regards to this one she easily could and part of me wonders if that is perhaps why she left the ending so devastatingly open.
                I’ve enjoyed Holly Black’s writing for a long time, since I was a teenager really. She’s definitely worth the read if you’re looking for something fresh and original. If you like Vampire stories that aren’t fluffed up like Twilight, I very much believe you would love this one. Definitely go check it out, already eagerly looking forward to her next novel.
                If you’ve read ‘The Coldest Girl in Coldtown’ what did you think of it? What did you like and not like about the novel?