Panic by Lauren Oliver

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars.

Panic: a game played by graduating seniors in the dead-end town of Carp, where all contestants must face their worst fears – and each other. Heather never thought she would participate in Panic, but when her broken heart finds a new cause to fight for, she readies herself for the ride of her life. Dodge, on the other hand, does not feel scared of Panic; he wants revenge, and that thirst will drive him throughout the game. Amidst the near-death experiences thrust upon them by the judges of Panic, both Heather and Dodge will discover new things about themselves, each other, and those around them. Even though Panic entails a cash prize, every contestant, including Heather and Dodge, wants something more.

Panic possesses a compelling concept and an enticing book jacket, but I found the content lacking.

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars.

Everything is Illuminated is the tale of a young writer traveling to eastern Europe in order to find a woman named Augustine. It is a tale about a young woman named Brod, and her battle with and against love and sadness. It is supposedly a heart-wrenching tale that ties together past and present, and inevitably illuminates everything.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Cover via Goodreads

Rating: 2.5/5 stars.

There seems to be a reasonable amount of hype for this book. Honestly, the only reason I picked it up was because one of my favorite authors, Maggie Stiefvater, heartily endorsed it with an extolling review. Did it live up to what I had predetermined it to be? No, not quite.

This is the epitome of a paranormal story gone wrong. Take an interesting concept like faeries that do not belong in the human world but inhabit it anyway, but fail to fill it in with charismatic characters or a scintillating setting. The dearth of amiable characters was what really detracted from the overall appeal of this book.

Another thing that bothered me was how the town accepted what was going on underground so readily. Sure, the author supplied the idea that they ignored it because it made the town pretty, and so on and so forth. But the atmosphere of the city, although discussed in the book, felt so vague I could not even begin to estimate what was truly going on.

If you are into the paranormal genre or are searching for a book with creepy monsters of the night, I would recommend The Replacement. Otherwise, skip this one.