LILA SHORTCUTS by Sarah Alderson

Short Stories set in the Hunting Lila world
Publication date: October 1st, 2013
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Number of pages: 128
Date read: September 30th, 2013
Genre: Young Adult, Short Stories, Romance
Source: ARC from Sarah Alderson
Format: Ebook
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(Description source: Goodreads)

Five compelling new short stories based in the world of HUNTING LILA.
Told from the perspectives of Alex, Jack, Demos, Amber and Suki - fans of this thrilling series now have a chance to delve into the minds of other characters, and see what they really think!

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This set of short stories should not be read without first having read both books in the Lila series - otherwise some of the context will not be understood. Besides, it's no burden at all having to read Hunting Lila and Losing Lila, it's the best use you can find for several hours of your time. Trust me, I know from experience!

Turning Amber is set when Amber is seventeen. She sees auras and doesn't have many friends because of it. Life gets interesting when she meets a boy with a strange aura of his own. The short story on Amber is really interesting, I love how descriptive the way Amber sees auras is written. We also find out how Amber met Ryder, it's cute.

With plenty of humour and some charming dialogue on Ryder's part, this is a nice and insightful story. Turning Amber also introduces several characters and instances that Lila series readers will recognise. 

Everybody is a liar.

Redeeming Demos is told as though Demos is telling someone a story, you'll learn who at the end. He describes his feelings for Melissa (Lila's mother) and his thoughts on love.

Demos's narrative picks up where Amber's finishes - with a prison break of a certain someone.

This story holds a more serious note and adds a few small details not previously known about Hunting Lila's back story.

 I was collecting as many of us as I could find, that is people with exceptional skills, none as exceptional as mine, of course, but exceptional none the less

Catching Suki is set at the start of Hunting Lila and is told from the point-of-view of our favourite, fashionable mind-reader, Suki. I have previously reviewed Catching Suki - you can check out the review here!

“There they are. Lieutenant Jack Loveday and Lieutenant Alex Wakeman. I’ve only seen their photos so far and the pictures that are in Demos’s head, but the truth is Demos did not do them justice. In fact, Demos’s head needs a tune up or a reboot or an entirely new operating system altogether.”

Recruiting Jack is where we get to learn a little about Jack and Alex when they were in college, and how Jack feels about his and Alex's reunion with Lila. We also see how Jack feels about Alex's presence in his life.
Jack's attitude and perspective is funny, as is his protective older brother routine.


The Moment is told from Alex's point of view and tell how he felt being reunited with Lila after several years and just how much things have changed in that time.
Alex is loyal sexy and will go to any lengths for Jack and Lila.
I have read this story at least three or four times (so far) and I love the look inside Alex's head.


Overall, Lila Shortcuts is an amazing lot of short stories, enjoyable and insightful: written superbly and with a doubt exactly what Lila series readers want!

I rate Lila Shortcuts Four out of Five!

TORMENTING LILA by Sarah Alderson

Book #2.5 in the Lila series
Publiction date: July 1st, 2013
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Date read: September 28th, 2013
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal
Source: Bought
Format: Ebook
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(Description source: Goodreads)

When Lila and Alex sneak off for a romantic weekend away, Lila’s hoping she’ll finally have a chance to work on Alex’s resolve.

But just as things start heating up news reaches them of a serial killer at loose on the island and it isn’t long before their intimate weekend away is interrupted.

A mind reader, a projector, a protective older brother and a serial killer. One of them is going to find Lila first. She's hoping it's the serial killer.

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Tormenting Lila is about Lila and Alex attempting to get away for a little while, for a bit of romantic alone time but, alas, they still don't have much luck. Whether it be an over protective older brother or a serial killer, one will interrupt them...

A very short story, Tormenting Lila is a quick fix for any and all Lila series addicts who after missing the characters after the end of Losing Lila. You get a nice insight into what the characters have been up to , and are like, after the events of Losing Lila.

I LOVE Suki, she is so completely hilarious, Nate is such a cutie, and Alex, well he's just plain sexy. Lila is her typical self, awesome as ever, as is Jack.

Written as superbly as ever, the only thing I wish was different with Tormenting Lila, was that it was longer - I totally need more of these characters, they 100% hook you.

Another interesting thing about Tormenting Lila is that it also that it gives readers a taste of another of Sarah Alderson's novels and the characters within it, that novel is The Sound, which is intriguing and I definitely something I am dying to read.

Anything by Sarah Alderson is a must-read!

"Now I was older and theoretically more mature"

I rate Tormenting Lila Three and a Half out of Five!

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES (books 1-5) by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Date read: March 15th 2013
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Adventure, Paranormal, Childrens
Source: Bought (re-read)

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(Description source: Goodreads)

They chronicle the adventures of the Grace children, twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory, after they move into Spiderwick Estate and discover a world of faeries that they never knew existed.

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The Spiderwick Chronicles are quite difficult to review seperately from each other but to me are worth reading just for some light-hearted entertainment.

The Field Guide introduces us to the three Grace siblings, Mallory, Jared and Simon and their mother at a time when life is anything but easy.

With their parents divorce they are forced to move into their old Aunt Lucinda's house which is full of dust and creaks to give a generally spooky atmosphere.

When they discover a secret library which contains pictures and secret information about mystical cretaures titled "Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You", which Jared immediately takes a great interest in.

 

Once disturbing the forgotten room and removing what looks to be a rats nest from inside a wall, things start to go horribly wrong. After closly reading the Field Guide, Jared has an idea about what the problem is and they go about fixing their mistakes.

Not long after a close ally is revealled to them they also discover that the world of the Field Guide may not be as ficticious as they had initially thought.

 

During the following four books the relationship between the siblings and the unseen world around them continues to blossom, as they discover and interact with creatures they only dreamed of before.

The Grace siblings are dragged further into a world that is not only dark but that has consumed many others, including their Uncle Arthur.

They meet Goblins, Hobgoblins, Dwarves, Dragons and many other creatures that most people have only ever heard of.

 

 

I re-read these books because when I first read them (many years ago) I loved them and was instantly entranced in the world alongside Malory, Jared and Simon. This time is was not much different, it is aimed at younger teens but I still found them to be an enjoyable and fun read.

The imagination shown in the depth of places and ideas is superb and the imagery in the way places are described is simply magic!

 

The worlds do not seem to clash, which I find irritating in some novels, and it seemed quite realistic and possible to me that a world could exist like this one that we are unaware of.

It really encourages the reader to be imaginative and makes it very easy so slip into the story alongside the characters.

 

It is quite a slow plot progression, the first book is basically just introducing the concepts and characters, and it it understandable to have it this way due to the target readers.

Despite this I would also rather have the small books compiled into one larger book but it does then open up 5 different, interesting ideas for cover art.

 

I don't find any of the characters to have any overly negative aspects that would not otherwise be present in real life, again another positive aspect of these book.

I really only have one small gripe about The Spiderwick Chronicles and that is that while their father is briefly mentioned, it would have been nice to include him a little more and have some kind of resolution between him and Jared.

The little pictures and arkworks throught The Spiderwick Chronicles are really a stroke of genius! The images make the books easier to relate to and lets face it, theyre gorgeous and extremely well drawn.
Tony DiTerlizzi has certainly done a wonderful job on them and they aren't to frequent throughout the books so that instead of being excited to see them it becomes like a picture book. The images enhance the plot line and characters in a subtle and clever way.

 

For those of you who have already seen the film adaptation of these novels I will simply say that quite a lot has been changed and left out from the books.

I adored the film, with all its magic and adventure, and the books reflect a lot of that but despite that I found the film to be paced quite a bit faster which was a good alteration.

I didn't enjoy some of the changes that they made but see for yourself and read them, they're a nice read anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I rate The Spiderwick Chronicles Three out of Five!