Alexandra MonirCritiques

WARNING: The 2nd half of this review DOES contain SPOILERS**
This book started off kind of slow at first but picks up later on. It's a short read (only 280 pages) but it's really interesting. I love the different eras that Michele visited, seeing the 1910's, and the 20's and the 40's was really cool. The love story is very cute but the main characters relationship reminds me of a fairytale (I'll explain more about that in the spoiler part). Going into this book, I didn't have too high of an expectation because of the mixed reviews and while I wasn't completely into the first half of the book, the 2nd half is where I really got into the story. Also the ending makes me really want to read the second book and find out what happens. Overall I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.


***SPOILERS!!!***

As I said earlier, MIchele and Philip's relationship reminded me of a fairytale because even though we know they can't be together now, they'll eventually find a way to be together and their relationship seems too perfect. The only barrier keeping them apart is their time periods and once they find a way around that it seems like it'll become this "happily ever after" type of relationship, which isn't real. So even though I do want to see Michele and Philip together, I would like to see a more realistic portrayal of their relationship.

From the moment they introduced Irving Henry into the story I knew that he would end up being Michele's dad and it's just so crazy to think that both her parents were from two different time periods. The ending when Michele's in class and they introduce the "new student", Philip Walker, I knew it would be him but I'm curious to see if it's really the Philip from 1910 who found a way to Michele's future or another Philip Walker who looks just like the one from 1910. At the end of the book Philip told Michele he would see her again though it might not be in the way she expects, so is it another future version of Philip? Or did the 1910 Philip find a way to the future and if so how?

Those were the major things that stuck out to me the most but overall I did enjoy the book and I want to read the next one.

“The need trumps everything, even agonizing pain.”

The Final Six by Alexandra Monir is a Young Adult Science fiction novel about twenty-four teenagers selected to go to the International Space Training Camp to prepare for a mission. The teens train to travel to Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and establish a new colony. If the mission to Europa isn’t successful, humans have a high risk of going extinct. Severe climate change has caused unpredictable weather and insufficient food. The population and the Earth are dying.

“Risk is the price of progress.”

The teenagers compete for the six mission slots and are eliminated by performance in a series of rounds. Everyone was happy about being selected for the mission except Naomi. Naomi is suspicious of the mission but realizes her skillset and investigative skills could save her new friends from going to Europa.

Naomi, a science genius, wants to take care of her sick brother and continue searching for a cure. She doesn’t want to save the world; she just wants to save him. While learning and making new friends, she is torn in a different direction. Will she be able to save both her friends and brother?

“Remember what you always say: no problem has ever been solved by panicking.”

Leo, a champion swimmer, recently lost his family in a flood. He was considering ending his life when he was chosen for the Europa mission. He felt this turn of luck gave his life a new purpose.

Leo and Naomi have an instant connection, and their friendship grows into a relationship. Love makes competition complicated, and these first loves must face the consequences of their choices. Will their love end in heartbreak or an out-of-this-world adventure?

Themes: love, friendship, grief, extinction

Reading this book was like living inside a vacuum. I thought there would be more of the ‘dystopian world in disaster’ experience while prepping for the mission. The reader is involved in the challenges but has little insight into what is going on in the world around them. Yes, there are snips here and there, and some lost loved ones, but I wasn’t attached to the condition of the world or the characters enough to really care. It’s like, “damn, a tidal wave hit *insert location here* and *insert character name* family died,” back to challenges—the end. The most you get to experience the outside world is when Leo is introduced—which I enjoyed.

Additionally, there are multiple POVs in this story, but they read the same. It’s hard the believe that two characters from different parts of the world would have the same voice. If it were two siblings with similar mannerisms, I would expect a bit of that but not here.

When I read the premise of this book, it felt like there was so much potential. Unfortunately, I didn’t love it as I hoped. It wasn’t bad but it just didn’t strike a chord with me. I read about all the prep for an adventure without ever going on one. There is a second book in this series, but it didn’t make my TBR list.

Posted a review on my blog

Posted a review on my blog

CW: Death of loved ones, violence, suppression of women

Well it took a while to get there but I ended up enjoying the last section.

In a futuristic Gotham, where the superheroes are long gone and women have been silenced, Dinah seeks the power to bring true justice back to the city. This was a really really slow burn. There was a lot of wondering and talking about the wonderings and slow unveilings of truths that span the first half of this book. The action doesn't really ramp up until the last quarter. I thought the world building was good but a little bit under developed. Given that Dinah sought to overthrow the controlling regime it warranted a bit more detail. The last quarter definitely saved this from iminent twodom. A solid addition to this series. I am also going to have to say that in my opinion, the books in this series featuring female superheroes are so much more engaging than the others. Just saying.

“Because you're fresh air," he says. "Being around you, hearing your music and listening to you talk, watching you smile...it makes me forget all the bad in the world.”
― Alexandra Monir, The Girl in the Picture

I do so love YA books that are both well written AND incredibly moving.

If you like your YA novels haunting with a dose of mystery and paranormal you are going to love The girl in the picture.

This is a campus novel. The plot revolves around one of the students, Chace who is found murdered.
The only clue the police have to go on is a picture .You see, Chace was dating Lana but the picture in question is not of Lana. It is of Chace with her roommate..a quiet, rather awkward, musically gifted girl named Nicole who, as far as everyone knew, barely knew Chace.

What really happened that night? Why is there a picture of Chace with his girlfriend's roommate? And what else is going to happen?

This was a great four star read. way more haunting then most YA mysteries. I also loved the extra magical element in it too. This was a bittersweet, mournful book that I loved.

I am glad the writer did not descend into cliches. Both girls were portrayed as very human. This is not a story of one good girl and one evil. Both are interesting and vulnerable people.

If there is one thing that REALLY makes it stand out, it is how music is incorporated and interwoven into the plot. That just made the story soar. There is a Metaphysical and spiritual element to Girl in the picture that differentiates it from the typical YA mystery.

It's the perfect YA mystery..highly recommended.½

Content Note: cissexism/gender plague

Plot:
Dinah Lance lives in Gotham City under the rule of the Owl Council who have made sure that the women in Gotham City don't have a voice - figuratively, but also literally: singing is outlawed for women, and has been made physically impossible, much to Dinah's chagrin. She dreams of singing, and of the one time she is sure she remembers hearing a girl sing when she was a child. When she and her friends Ty and Mandy try to find out more about the female singers of the past, Dinah gets in deep trouble though, drawing the attention of the Owl Council, with worse consequences only avoided through the intervention of her cop father Larry. Dinah should be keeping her head down under the circumstances, but with an old friend of her dead mother, Barbara Gordon, making an appearance, and new and very cute student Oliver Queen arriving at her school, Dinah can't help but continue to question the way things are. And maybe she can find her voice after all.

Black Canary: Breaking Silence takes a very different approach from the other novels in the DC Icons series so far, setting its story decades in the future in an dystopian version of Gotham. While that's interesting, a lot of it seems a little half-baked and not quite thought through, making it a little disappointing despite its obvious(ly) feminist mission.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2022/04/20/black-canary-breaking-silence-alexandra-monir/½

A good mix of science fiction and romance within an Earth where the affects of industrialization and climate change have pretty much destroyed the planet. I loved the science aspects of the book. I thought it was a bit too preachy about the effect of climate change. The romance was an interesting side plot. I thought the ending of the story and the obvious set for the next could have been done better.

I must first admit that I had never heard of Black Canary. I'm mainly familiar with the "standard" DC heroes: Superman, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, etc. What really interested me is that those heroes are all dead for this story. I've always had the idea that once the heroes "did their thing," all was well. Alas, no. In addition, I had never heard of the Court of Owls. Boy--this novel was an education!

In this novel, the Court of Owls controls Gotham City. I do mean, control. Female rights no longer exist. Girls can attend school, but their clothing is regulated as are their classes. They attend sewing classes and other classes that they need as women. Only the males can attend gym and leadership classes. Years ago, the mayor of Gotham created a serum that removed women's voices from having the ability to sing. [I found this odd. I don't see women's power as coming from their singing voices. Voices, yes. Singing, no.] Dinah Lance remembers hearing a female singer and chafes under the regulations imposed on females. She stands outside the choir door just to listen to the music. When she attends class, teachers laud the Court of Owls and how they "saved" Gotham from "divorce rates and plummeting birth rates." Dinah refuses to do nothing believing, "the world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."

Families who support and serve on the Court of Owls receive special attention. One of the famous families is the Queen family. So, it's surprising when the heir, Oliver Queen, moves to Gotham and finds Dinah attractive. Dinah feels mutually, but she can't tell him about her life. Dinah doesn't know anyone in the resistance, but she supports their efforts. She even tries to break in to the old Opera house in hopes of finding a rumored safe that may hold secrets. It's this attempt that calls attention to Dinah from the Court of Owls. She is labeled as questionable with a blood-dripping mask on her door. Everyone knows the Court is not happy with her. Life is now dangerous. If the Court feels Dinah threatens then, they can have her removed to Arkham Prison.

Dinah eventually discovers her mother's secret; she was a hero: the Black Canary. Despite her father's pleas, Dinah feels she must fight as the Black Canary. She needs her voice first, as the Canary's powers depend on voice. The novel shows Dinah's journey from powerful teen to powerful hero.

Overall, I found the novel okay. I wonder if I wasn't more "into" it because I didn't know the hero Black Canary? I just don't know. I also had trouble imaging the screams and music having power. I think I need to see this, so maybe I should find a movie? Also, I could easily put the book down and never stayed up reading past my bedtime. I liked that females wanted to regain their rights and worked together.

teen sci fi adventure (incidental cultural diversity - main character is Iranian-American from L.A. and other characters are representative of the other 1st world nations--China, Singapore, Russia); set in a world where irreversible climate change has destroyed hope of human life continuing on Earth).

This was ok, but for an adventure story (where even the smallest mistake can be fatal) it didn't really hook me in.

Enjoyable mystery but too much was made of the disfiguring scar on Nicole’s face and it didn’t really have much to actually do with the story. I thought there would be more to the actual explanation. I did enjoy the multiple perspectives.½

After reading the plotline for The Final Six’s sequel, The Life Below, on Facebook, I was immediately drawn to the novel. Taking place in a self-destructing Earth, twenty-four of the smartest, most athletic, and technical teens are chosen to compete in a series of tests that could qualify them for one of the six seats on a ship that will take them to Europa, where they will begin to colonize Jupiter’s moon so that the human race can leave Earth for good. Focusing on Naomi Ardalan of the United States and Leo Danieli of Italy, Monir tells the point of view of two teens and their experience during Space Training Camp. Personally, as much as I love this book and its whole concept, it was a bit predictable. I feel like, as soon as the contestants were assigned groups, you could easily foretell Leo and Naomi’s fate. Despite this, the story was very well written and engaging. I loved how readers got to go through each and every test which showed each and every contestants’ strengths. Overall, I would give this book, 4.5 out of 5 stars. If you like this book, I would recommend "Zodiac" by Romina Russell.½

Literary Merit: Good
Characterization: Good
Recommend: for fans of the series
Level: High school

The second book in this series was definitely more my thing than the first, but I still had issues with its pacing and predictability. However, I'm a sucker for thrillers in space so yes, I'll read the third one. I would say the first book had Ender's Game vibes as it focused on a competition for teens who will go on a mission to save the planet. This second book to me has Contagion by Erin Bowman (one of my fav sci-fi books ever) vibes as they as now in space but trying to uncover secrets about what really awaits them on this new planet. I enjoyed the mystery as the characters raced to uncover secrets and were constantly reevaluating who could be trusted. The two POV slowly coming together added better perspective and also added more suspense. However, most of this book was suspense without substance and so the ending felt extremely rushed. It was great, but a LOT happens in a short amount of pages. Still a solid sci-fi space book that is good for beginners in this genre because it plays with several genre troupes, but is a negative for me for the same reason since I've read better versions of this story before. It was good enough that I'll hold out hope that the third book gets better enough to stand out on its own.½

As this book opens, we see Naomi and the other Final Sixers settling into their new life onboard the ship and Leo, preparing for and embarking on his own journey.

Sabotage hits the ship en-route to a resupply stop in Mars orbit. Naomi is very scared when she realizes someone in her crew is responsiblep. Who would do such a thing and more importantly, why? She also has serious doubts about the vaccine the crew must take in daily doses to resist deep space radiation.

I can't say much about this book because it's a continuation of the first book and filled with spoilers. I'm not in the demographic this duology is aimed at, but I would recommend it to preteens, teens, and fans of young adult space fiction.


TBR 1476

Looking to escape an increasingly devastated earth, the international community selects Europa as a site for future colonization. And who better to colonize a distant moon and save humanity than six teenagers? NASA teams up with the International Space Training Camp to recruit the top 24 teens in the world in a competition to save mankind. The 24 teens will train, learn and push themselves to the limits, until the final six are chosen to go on the space journey. But surviving the mission to Europa is not a given. Astronauts from the Athena crew have already died on its surface.

This book focuses primarily on Leonardo Danieli from Italy and Naomi Ardalan of the United States. Leo lost his family in the flooding of Rome, but because his strong swimming abilities, Leo will compete to serve as the mission’s underwater specialist.Naomi, an Iranian-American from Los Angeles has a command of computers and her ability to think on her feet would make her an important asset to the team. She doesn't want to leave her family and her brother is too ill for them to join her on Europa if the mission is successful. She also suspects there’s something deeper going on, and she’s determined to expose it, both to protect the other finalists and to get herself kicked out of the program so that she can return to her family.

The Final Six is a fast-paced book that would definitely appeal to teens and pre-teens. I was disappointed that it ended in a cliffhanger but at least the second book has been published so I'll pick it up and continue the story.




TBR 1475

What had me sceptical at first , has made me a fan of this series. Thought I say it reminds me a lot of INSIGNIA

Engrossing, well crafted, sad at the end. This story pits a very gifted violinist on scholarship at a fancy private school against her roommate, powerful politicians and others I won't mention. Nicole Morgan did everything she could not to fall in love with Chase, but fate had other ideas. She endured a nighttime fall that left her disfigured, anger and shaming from nearly every other students and evidence she cannot explain following Chase's murder. How it all sorts out makes for one heck of a read.

It was all right. I thought the first one was much better.

Better than satisfying sequel. The way Leo and Naomi get back together is spectacular, as is the intrigue on the ship, as they rendezvous with the Mars cargo and especially when they reach Europa. It's a great ending and I highly recommend both books in the series to teens and adults who love good sci-fi with a romantic twist.

Entertaining enough to somehow keep me reading, that's why I'm giving it two stars instead of one. However, characters were cardboard. Granted, they tried really hard to be 3-D but it just didn't happen. Cliche characters. Cliche plot. Cliche ending. The only thing I liked was when two people worked together in the end. I wish that could have been expanded upon as that would have been the better story.

Loved it. What a cute story. Cannot wait for the second part. Please be there soon.

Cover~4.5/5

Book: 4/5

Well, it wasn't as wonderful as the first one (yeah, I know, I was iffy about how I felt initially when I read the last word of Timeless but after a few days, my heart gave in all the way and I fell in love but this isn't about Timeless, so I digress...)

I liked it...But didn't love it and definitely didn't hate it..That's why it got a 4 out of 5 instead of the full 5 out of 5..I don't want to say too much about it because I don't want to give any spoilers..But some parts of the book..I'm glad she finally got to do...

And of course, the love between Philip and Michelle in her time is expected (hey, it says it in the summary, so no, its not a spoiler..lol)...But, there isn't a whole lot to say about it except that it's worth reading..Especially if you read and liked Timeless but do NOT go into Timekeeper expecting the same thing you got out of Timeless, especially if you loved it. Just go into it expecting some kind of closure from the first book. Im not sure if there is going to be another one or not. But the way it ended...It could either just stop here...or go on to another book. So, I guess we will see. :-)

This book is a great set-up for Timekeeper. I read Timekeeper before this one so I know what happens already, but I wish I had this little ebook beforehand. But no matter, it got read and answered some questions for me...especially the one I had about Milicent. It gave quite a bit of information about Rebecca to set it up for Timekeeper. You can read Timekeeper without this one but this book helps get into Timekeeper and understand some things that happened.

I can say I liked this one but Timeless is still my favorite of the three books.

WOW...

I love it....BUT....I don't...

Conflicted Much?

I finished this book last night and I was all confused about how I felt and what I would say...Well, I'm still feeling the same way..so, if it shows, then, you know why! :-)

I still don't know how I feel about this book. Part of me loves it...Another part of me is still saying its okay...That's why it only got 4 stars.

It would have gotten 5 if I hadn't had so many moments of boredom throughout the book. But the good thing is, the boredom didn't last long. Maybe page or two at most..Then it would pick back up.

I can say that during the last few chapters, I was looking forward to reading book 2 at least. I'm thinking about getting Secrets of the Time Society...Just to get a background of the Time Society

As I was reading this one, I went and peeked at the summary for Timekeeper and saw how things would go in that book. And that made me curious. Then, I finally get to the ending and see that I didn't need to peek at the other book.

How Do I Feel About The Characters?

Guess what?
I'm conflicted on that one too.

I don't know why I couldn't just fall in love with the characters in this book.

But I do love Clara. There was just something about her that I loved...Maybe it was her innocence? No, not the innocence like she was naive, maybe just the time she was in..she had that 1910s kind of innocence..that I wish was still around now-a-days.

Maybe the fact that she was the odd duck in the family? I always felt like the odd one out in my family, so I could relate with her on that one.

Don't get me wrong, I really, really liked..adored most of them but I couldn't love them the way I wanted to..

Now, I can say I was borderline despising the grandparents {until towards the end}...

When I finally got to that last page, all I could do was, close the book, sigh, smile and just sit there for a moment taking it all in...The last few chapters were the best to me...out of the whole book...those last few chapters made it all worth while...I'm glad I was able to make it through the whole book...

Now, if I could just get through Secrets of the Time Society and Timekeeper to see what happens and how they end up. I hope it goes as I expect it will and the do end up together, in the same time, and they don't have to go chasing each other again...


[bc:Timeless|8100422|Timeless (Timeless, #1)|Alexandra Monir|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1275460221s/8100422.jpg|12873812]

Oh, and did I say that I love this cover?

Because I really do! :-)

I loved this book! I'm really into books centered around a competition so I was happy that this book had that element, along with sci-fi and smart girls! Naomi was a great character. She was smart and independent, but still obviously loved her family so much and was torn about what her future should be. Leo was sweet and supportive of Naomi. They are couple goals for sure. I would've liked to get to know some of the side characters more, but that's what book 2 is for I guess.
The idea of our earth turning against us because we damaged it and ignored climate change is so realistic, you can easily see how that could happen. This book was interesting from the very beginning and I highly recommend it. Already (im)patiently waiting for the sequel!!