Review: Sound by Shelley Workinger

Goodreads description: Clio Kaid's had one crazy summer.

After learning she was one of a hundred teens who were genetically modified before birth, she and the others departed for "camp" at a classified military site.

Besides discovering her own special ability, uncovering a conspiracy, and capturing a killer, she's also forged new friendships, found love, and managed to lose them both.

With no answers and the end of summer closing in, Clio's terrified of going home more lost than when she arrived.

Will she finally find everything she's been looking for?

Find out in this exciting conclusion to the Solid trilogy.

THIS SERIES. OMG. FANGIRLING. SO. MUCH.

This book has so many twists and turns and such pure awesomeness. It’s the perfect example of “be careful who you trust” because with this series? You never know who the bad guy is! Sure, you get little hints but when you find out who the real bad guy is, you are shocked!

This book was the perfect conclusion to the series. All the friends make up and Clio and Jack are fine <3 I do kinda wish some things had been different with their relationship in the end though. I want to know how everyone is, say, 10 years from now. Have they learned more about their abilities? Are they still all friends? Are Clio and Jack MARRIED?! Tell me!! I need to know!

And the end. What was that?! WHO was that?! You can’t just put a cliffhanger like that and NOT expect me to need answers especially when it’s the end of the series! Shelley, you’re killing me here :P

I’d definitely recommend this to everyone. It’s fast paced, easy and fun to read. I can’t wait for more of Shelley’s writing (:

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Review: Settling by Shelley Workinger

Goodreads description:

At the beginning of the summer, Clio Kaid was one of a hundred teens brought to a secret Army installation. But it was no ordinary camp and they weren’t ordinary kids…

Picking up where “Solid” left off, Clio and her friends realize that they aren’t ready to go home; they’re determined to stay on campus and continue their journey of self- discovery. But someone doesn’t feel the same way and will do anything to drive them away – even kill.

Friendships will be tested, abilities will evolve, and more secrets will come out as the teens race to stop the killer before he sets his sights on one of them…

First line:  “Why rush? I reminded myself, purposely slowing my steps toward the dining hall”

Wooooow. I completely love this series. No joke. I love it’s sense of relatibility. The believable paranormal aspect. Strong characters with great relationships. I love it all.

I love that I can somewhat relate. While the characters have this crazy chromosome defect, they still deal with real teen issues. What I really like is Clio’s attention to music and especially lyrics of the songs. She has a “lyric journal”. If a song means something to her, she will write down the lyrics. I’ve actually thought about doing this since I started this series. Another point I like is the food. Well, the food gets a bit annoying – only because as I’m reading the book, I have a craving for a chocolate covered twinkie. Yet, I don’t have any of those. I finished this book a week ago and I’m still craving twinkies!

I may have said this in my review of book 1, but this series makes me think about a lot of what ifs. What if my chromosomes were altered? What if the government/army was secretly hiding this group of kids who could do crazy things? While highly unlikely, it could still happen. That’s a main reason I love this series – it’s not some far-fetched idea.

The characters are amazing – sometimes almost too amazing. The strength and courage they have is completely respectable. But at times, I feel like they deserve a break. Well, I know they deserve a break. They just don’t take breaks. That’s what makes them strong. They take on all the problems because that’s just who they are. They’re the characters who are there for everyone no matter what. Especially Jack. I love Jack. He’s Clio’s “boyfriend”. I don’t necessarily think he’s the right guy for her but he is a good guy in general.

Should you go read this series? Yes. Absolutely. No doubt about it.

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Review: Solid by Shelley Workinger

Goodreads description:
Clio Kaid may be 17 and just beginning the last summer before her senior year, but her life is anything but typical.

She's just discovered she was genetically altered before birth and is now headed to a top-secret Army campus to explore the surprising results of the experiment.

Follow Clio and the other teens as they develop fantastic super-abilities, forge new friendships, find love, and uncover a conspiracy along the way.

Solid was so fluent and easy to read. I couldn’t put it down because it just holds your attention so well. The characters are great, each bringing something “to the table”. I honestly can’t even pick a favorite character because they are all so amazing. (Maybe Jack…. Hm..)

I really loved the whole setting, which is at an army base of sorts. Well, an army base that has been redesigned to house 100 teens. It was like… a boarding school but the kids got a lot more freedom. And free food. Can’t pass up free food. Especially the Starbucks.

Ooooh and the whole chromosome change thing? So cool. Is it even possible to alter chromosomes? Okay, not like “possibility” matters in fiction, I’m just curious…. You get a glimpse of the entire ordeal in the prologue, but with rats, so you’re not totally confused when the real story begins. I liked that.

One thing I want to point out, though, is I noticed some plot holes. Nothing major. Ex: one character changed their name before enlisting in the army to avoid conflict because of who they are related to. Doesn’t the army do a huge background check on everyone? No? I don’t know.. Still, this could be excused as “it didn’t matter at the time they were enlisting and no one thought to check years later”.

Anyways, I really really loved this book and the whole direction the story is going. The relationships between characters are extraordinary. I’m kind of kicking myself right now for reading the sneak peek to book #2. If I had an e-reader, I would totally buy the rest of the series. BUT for those of you who do have an e-reader, go download this book. You’ll enjoy it as much as I did, *pinky promise* ;)