Midnight City by J. Barton Mitchell

I fell in love with Midnight City by J. Barton Mitchell when I read the very first page. And I stayed in love with it to the very end.

            When the world was taken over by aliens, all of the people over 18 succumbed to the Tone and were abducted by the aliens…

Holt Hawkins hunts people. He’s a bounty hunter and one person has a surprisingly large sum of money on her head: Mira Toombs. In a world where aliens rule and people get possessed by the Tone, the call the aliens use to lure in human beings, people can be guilty of anything. But Holt doesn’t care about the why of the price on her head; he just wants the money. After capturing Mira, Holt encounters Zoey, a little girl he rescues from a crashed alien ship. There’s something different about her, but Holt can’t decide exactly what that is. As the trio battles though endless obstacles to return Mira to her city, which also happens to be one of the last human strongholds in North America, they become comrades rather than prisoners and warden. When they finally make it to Midnight City, Holt discovers why Mira was so wanted and that things are a lot more complicated than he ever expected. Will Holt and Mira survive being attacked by the aliens? More importantly, will they be able to survive through the human attacks?

           

            My favorite part, by far, was the characters. They were perfect. Absolutely perfect. First, let’s talk about Holt. Holt is Heedless, so he is immune to the Tone. He was my favorite character, no doubt. First of all, he loves his dog, Max, so much that he risks his life several times to save him. I would do the same thing for my dog. I SERIOUSLY LOVE MY DOG AND SO DOES HE! Plus, he is a GENIUS! He is probably the smartest person that I have ever read about. Actually, I guess he’s more clever than smart, but still he was really smart/clever. I don’t even know how Mitchell came up with some of these things, but they amazed me! Holt is adorable with Zoey. For example, in one scene he teaches her to waltz and it’s seriously the cutest thing ever. Well, besides my dog. J Other than that, he’s always prepared, a little OCD, and totally amazing….

           

            Mira is pretty much just as amazing as Holt, except in girl form. They are evenly matched in everything: wits, strength, cleverness, and intelligence. But they aren’t the same person, really. You can tell that the reason for this is NOT that Mitchell can only write one kind of character; it’s because they’re perfect for each other, so they share some similar qualities. There is no macho man out to save the little damsel in distress; Mira saves Holt plenty of times, too. Holt doesn’t treat Mira like something delicate to be coddled, and he views her as a complete equal. Oh, and by the way, Mira is months away from being taken over by the Tone and being abducted by aliens…

            This plot line was so intense! I couldn’t stop reading it! I had o know what happened next! There were moments when I literally could not stop smiling, even after I stopped reading and I’m pretty sure my mom thought I was slightly crazy. Some parts of this book were so cleverly crafted I couldn’t help but be impressed, and sometimes astounded, by it. I couldn’t find any plot holes and the whole thing was really realistic. When the characters were in a situation, it tackled all of the problems presented; it didn’t just conveniently ignore a problem to make the plot simpler. Every event in the book meshed really well together and it turned out to be a fabulous read in the end!

            Mitchell did really well at creating a strong female heroine and he also did a good job making a strong male hero. All of the characters were so in depth and lovable that I couldn’t help but be totally immersed in the story from line one!

This book was AMAZING!! 5 Smileys!

The Believing Game by Eireann Corrigan

I have no idea what to say about The Believing Game by Eireann Corrigan. My feelings are so mixed that it’s crazy.

            Greer Cannon never worried about being good. She shoplifted at every store she could find, she slept with every guy she could get her hands on, and she ate as little as possible. When she gets caught shoplifting one too many times, her parents send her away to McCracken Hill, a reform school for “bad” children. There, she meets Addison. He’s perfect in every way except for one: he is not in control of his own life. His “friend,” a forty-year-old man named Joshua, controls everything in his life, down to the friends that he has to his very actions. What is supposed to be a fun weekend at a Poconos mountain house turns into a creepy stay when Joshua tells the kids of an upcoming war against vegans. It is then that Greer discovers how much power Joshua has over these kids and how he has built this power on lies. Can Greer release his hold over her friends, or will they blindly follow Joshua, no matter what he asks of him?

            This is an extremely hard review for me to write. The first half of this book was kind of annoying. It was like one of those horror movies where you’re screaming, “DON’T GO IN THERE!” but she goes in there anyway. Joshua was super creepy from the beginning and it was annoying how she kept thinking how weird he was and how wrong what he did and said was, but she never spoke up. When he overstepped his boundaries, she was like, “Someone has to speak up.” But no one ever did. So she didn’t either. She was a total sheep.

Greer and Addison’s relationship was so messed up. First of all, it was total insta-love (more like insta-lust) and I have no idea why she would even like him. He was really condescending. He said things like, “Greer that’s so ignorant,” and practically preached to the poor girl. I don’t know how she put up with it. She’s so attached to Addison that she’ll do anything for him (even let some creepy dude sleep in her bed) and she’s really dependent on him. It’s an unhealthy relationship.

            However, the second half of this book was slightly genius. Only when Greer started to get suspicious and actually question what Joshua was doing (like any normal person would) the story got a lot better. For one, I no longer wanted to pound her head against a wall until she gained an ounce of common sense because she did that on her own. Back to Joshua: I have no idea why anyone would ever listen to him. I mean, he’s obviously a psycho. I wouldn’t touch that guy with a 39 ½ foot pole (Grinch reference, anyone?).

            The genius in it was that it truly was frightening. This book showed how much power one person could have over a group. It also showed how some people preyed on the weak and that enough of the weak could become a strong army. It also demonstrated how desperate people will accept some lies, no matter how fantastic, if it suits their need.

            And then there was the ending. There was nothing particularly sad about the ending; the words were happy, at least. But it still made me cry. There was just something about it that seemed really tragic to me. Needless to say, the ending, as well as the last 100 or so pages, was fantastic. The first half of the book was slightly annoying, but the last part of the book definitely made up for it. Oh, and one part of this book made me feel physically ill. For some reason that made this book so much more powerful.

I have mixed feelings about this book. 3 Smileys!