Marie Lu

Full review: https://wanderinglectiophile.wordpress.com/2018/04/10/review-warcross-by-marie-l...

Right away, my first thoughts were…”I’ve read very similar content elsewhere…Ready Player One…for one..” which kinda disappointed me. The concept and premise of the story is an interesting one for sure, and I’m glad that Lu was able to make it it’s own in the end. The plot was great, I thought it had a good mix of success and struggle that kept the reader engaged and wanting more.

One aspect I did like was that in the world of Warcross was that Warcross is in the real world. Unlike Ready Player One; where you have the real world and have to login to the Oasis, Warcross has the Warcross world overlaying the real world. Things you do in the real world directly relate to experience points in Warcross. Visiting Tokyo, for example, caused Emika to level up. I found this to be a nice element to the story. But with that in mind, I found myself distracted by logistics for a world like this. How are Warcross players playing in the games? With Ready Player One, it was all online – you got into haptic rigs that would keep you in one place physically, but allow you to run about in the Oasis. That made sense though since the real world wasn’t integrated into the game. Warcross though, has some logistical questions I struggled with. For example; the Dark World…where in the real world are you going or are you blindly bumping about in the real world because you’re seeing the virtual reality instead of the real world?

The characters and inter-character relationships were…a bit one-dimensional for my liking. First we have the relationship with Emika and her roommate…who’s name I can no longer recall…which really proves my point about the characters and relationships lacking depth, doesn’t it? Why bother writing in a roommate if that detail isn’t well developed and used for more than “I wonder what X (seriously, I can’t remember her name and I don’t have to book available to look it up) is thinking back at home?” that Emika thinks as she’s gearing up for the games? Then we have the relationship with Emika and her dad that was basically conveyed through sentiments of “I miss him so much” – nothing of substance to get the reader feeling that connection. Then you have the relationship between Hideo and Emika that is founded on the idea that she’s just so super smart and sassy that she caught the eye of the lonely, billionaire genius. I mean, has he not come into contact with any independent and strong women prior to now? …it was…reminiscent of Christian and Ana if you ask me… *gagging noises* Although, the Phoenix Riders team members was the most well developed relationship dynamic, it still lacked a certain amount of depth for me to feel an emotional connection with them and their success or failure. I did, however, enjoy our heroin’s character. She had spunk and independence, which I enjoyed. I just wish the other characters were more felt out. It would have made for a much more interesting story.

I found some of the details and narratives either a bit predictable or unrealistic. For one, our broke-penniless-about-to-be-evicted heroine has dyed rainbow colored hair….as the daughter of a licensed cosmetologist – and someone who knows the upkeep costs of hair color – I have to ask, WTF is she getting the money for this every-two-to-three-week(if you’re lucky!) dye job?!? …For those of you who may not know; any hair color that isn’t a naturally occurring color (though, even red is a problem sometimes), takes twice as much work to maintain; meaning twice as much money spent. I just find it hard to believe that anyone in her situation would continue the senseless expense of hair color, regardless of her emotional attachment to it. The sad part is that Lu even writes about such an expense and how Emika “doesn’t care when it comes to the cost of hair dye” and I still find it unrealistic. Even if she’s doing her dye job at home – which is going to be that much more unrealistic because she’s not a licensed professional, and trust me, she’d need some mad skills to make rainbow hair happen at home – she’s more likely to end up with a muddied hair color provided by a product that isn’t professional grade which means it will wash out faster and not produce the same results as a professional dye job. I might have believed this crazy color hair dye detail if it was all one color. Pink or blue, for example. But rainbow? RAINBOW. On a I’m-three-months-behind-on-rent-and-about-to-be-evicted budget? No. Just, no.

Unfortunately, the plot twist and ending I saw from over a mile away. This generally disappoints me in any book. I love when an author can keep me guessing and second guessing. BUT. I still enjoyed the ride all the same. The pace was good and the plot was decent. I just knew where the sharp turns were going to be and could prepare myself accordingly.

For the most part, the points made throughout this review are nit-picky ones. I really did love this story and there were just a few things that I wish had been more developed and thought out. ….I’m a little perturbed that I have to wait until September for the next book. I would definitely recommend this book to just about anyone who had an interest in reading though.… (altro)

If only the ending had not been so over the top and dragged on, this would have been one of the most perfect YA and Adult thrillers.

As it stands, both superstar singer and dancer Winter Young and superstar spy Sydney Cossette were finely drawn and unusually un-stereotyped characters. Both delivered compelling reading, notably with their mood shifts and introspections.

While their attraction was not quite predictable, with Winter still a closet gay, exploring it was still enjoyable. as the plot evolved into a new world of Under Hotel Training and backstage concert routines. Book Cover reveals were great and what a movie it will make with two lonely spy vs star balanced by Winter's wit and intelligent, intuitive awareness.

Penelope's personality was improbably concealed.

The opening Mission Logs were a fun and challenging lead off, while Necco Wafers
earn a new awakening.

Plot questions: Why would Winter EVER consider another mission after he nearly got Leo's family murdered? Shouldn't a Bodyguard have stayed with Winter and Penelope?
How did Niall and Sauda so quickly find them on the cargo ship?… (altro)

As an adult reader, I find YA reads are either a hit or a miss. There never seems to be an in between. I found "Stars and Smoke" by Marie Lu to be a definite hit! The characters are believable, the plot intriguing with lots of twists and turns, and the settings are well described. The storyline follows the lives of Winter Young, a world-wide superstar and Sydney Cossette, a nineteen-year-old agent working for an elite organization. Winter is recruited to join Sydney in taking down the notorious crime boss, Eli Morrison. At first, Sydney and Winter are at odds. The plot quickly changes as both realize that there is more to each other's backgrounds than they were originally led to believe. As they maneuver through spying on Eli and his associates, they quickly realize that all is not what it appears to be. I love when a novel has a surprise ending, and this one certainly did. An excerpt of the next novel in this series, "Icon and Inferno", is included at the end of this book. I love that it's set up as a stand-alone novel. It looks intriguing and another novel by Ms. Lu that I'm looking forward to reading.… (altro)

In Batman: Nightwalker – The Graphic Novel, Stuart Moore adapts the novel of the same name by Marie Lu with illustrations by Chris Wildgoose with Cam Smith, color by Laura Trinder, and letters by Troy Peteri. Like other YA original graphic novels based on DC’s characters, this story reimagines the familiar characters in a new setting freed from decades of continuity, although this one adapts a novel that did the same.

The story focuses on a young Bruce Wayne, just come into his inheritance on his eighteenth birthday. Meanwhile, a group called the Nightwalkers are targeting the wealthy in Gotham, murdering them in their homes and offices. Bruce begins to get involved in the case, slowly developing his detective skills. Bruce begins doing community service at Arkham Asylum where he meets Madeline, one of the Nightwalkers. As a result, he learns more about the class inequality that underpins life in Gotham. Even as billionaires donate to charities or engage in philanthropic works, they make their money from industrial prisons and other companies that siphon off resources Gothamites might otherwise use. Lu and Moore carefully try to position Bruce as a “good” billionaire and are greatly assisted by his youth and naïveté in this volume. The story works well as a standalone reimagining of Bruce Wayne with Alfred, Lucius Fox, and Harvey Dent adding a touch of the familiar despite changes to fit this story.

It remains unclear if Lu or others will return to this version of Bruce Wayne, but fans of Elseworlds stories and younger readers will likely enjoy Batman: Nightwalker. In terms of art Laura Trinder’s colors are brilliant, using heavy grays and faded blues in a way that both creates a noir aesthetic and recalls the Batman’s classic costume. The occasional pop of yellow to emphasize scenes completes the Batman color coding. In this, she recalls other YA graphic novels from DC that use their characters’ color palettes to bring the art to vivid life and compliment the stories’ tone.… (altro)