Started Book Three of Volume 3!

Witchlight: The third installment of Vol. 3 of the Night World series starts off with a shapshifter named Keller and her two friends attempting to locate the third Wild Power, who has been identified as Illiana Dominick, a lost Harman witch. Illiana is also said to be The Witch Child, a powerful Harman prophecized to marry the son of The Fist House of the Shapeshifters, which will create an unyeilding bond and alliance between the witches and shapeshifters forever. Illiana, a popular and much loved girl and in a human high school, is reluctant to accept her ancestry and her responsibility to the world as The Witch Child and the third Wild Power. Under the careful watch of Keller, vampire Nissa, witch Whinnie, and another shapeshifter Galen, Illiana continues to deny what the three agents of Circle Daybreak repeatedly tell her. Not by a coincidence, Galen is there when Keller tries to convince Illiana of her heritage mall. Galen is there to meet Illiana and get to know her, for he is the only son of the Fist House of the Shapeshifters and is fated to marry Illiana Harman. However, things take an unexpected turn. Everyone knows the of prophecy that states Galen will marry Illiana, but she is not his soulmate. Keller is. Keller's realization that she and Galen are the ones fated to be joined puts the alliance she has worked so hard for at risk. If Illiana does not marry Galen, then Circle Daybreak will lose the shapeshifters to the vampires and no alliance will be formed. For this reason, she is determined to deny she has any feelings for Galen and tries to convince him that he must be with Illiana, who he does not love. Its clear that the only person he has eyes for is Keller. And if this play of emotions between heart and duty weren't enough, a dragon has been awaked from its 30,000 year slumber and is bent on destroying the third Wild Power and bringing about the apocalypse...

Night World Volume 3

"The Night World isn't a place, it's all around us. And now its split in two, Vampires against Witches, Humans, and Daybreakers. The werewolves and shifters could go either way. Which ever side they take could determine the fate of the human race."
This is the third volume of Night World. I'm trying to make it last, but am not succeeding, because the final book, Strange Fate, doesn't come out until April! (which I can't for the life of me understand because this one came out in 1997!) Anyway, Vol. 3 includes Huntress, where a vampire girl of a prominent Night World family finds out that she is in fact half human. Learning this, Jez Redfern leaves her life behind in order to make amends for her past wrong doings to humans, her mother's kind, and stalks the very creatures she had once hunted with. But when Circle Daybreak enlists Jez to reclaim leadership of her old gang in order to identify a Wild Power (a child born the year of the Blind Maiden's vision who will hold off the darkness with three others at the time of the apocalypse) she fears for the human child's life as well as her own, for if those who she had once called her friends find out about her parentage, they would not hesitate to kill her. Jez not only has to keep her family a secret, but also juggles the new feelings awakened in her when she realizes that her soulmate is Morgead, a fellow gang member notoriously famous for hating humans, and the one person Jez is sure would strike her down if he knew the truth. Finding the Wild Power proved to be difficult, and Jez went through two likely candidates before she realized an even greater truth about herself, and her responsibility to the human race.

In Black Dawn, a human girl named Maggie learns of a horrible tragedy, Her eighteen year old brother Miles had been killed in a mountain climbing expedition, or so his girlfriend claims. Maggie however, does not believe Sylvia's crying act and pursues the truth about her brother. Upon confronting Sylvia, Maggie learns that the older girl was in fact lying, but is hit with the realization that she will never know the truth when she is knocked out. When she wakes, Maggie is locked in a cart with three other girls. One around middle school age, the other, a slave who attempted to escape the Dark Kingdom, the place Maggie will soon find herself, a place that is ruled by Night Worlders, where technology is nonexistent, and where humans are slaves to the vampires, shapeshifters, werewolves, and witches. The last girl is a mystery. Being blind, how could she be of any use to the Night Worlders? When Maggie and her new acquaintances attempt to escape, they are forced to split up, leaving Maggie with the nearly unconscious blind girl, Arcadia. (though we find out later her real name is Aradia.) Hiding from the slavetraders, Maggie meets a vampire boy named Delos, who saved her life and Aradia's from a shapeshifter, using the blue flames of a Wild Power. The two realize that they are soulmates, despite what the vampire prince wishes (yes he's the prince of the Dark Kingdom!) and it becomes evident that he must choose a side. Either he will give in to the infamous Hunter Redfern and contribute to the destruction of the human world, or join the Daybreakers and assume his responsibility to hold off the darkness...

As of now, two Wild Powers have been found, and the prophecy states that there must be four:
One from the land of Kings long forgotten (Delos)
One from the hearth which still holds the Spark (possibly a Harman witch?)
One from the Dayworld where two eyes are watching (Jez)
And one from the twilight to be one with the dark (?)

Didn't get to book three yet!

Night World Volume 2

This volume includes: Dark Angel, The Chosen, and Soulmate. I read the first two volumes over Thanksgiving break and picked them out for the long car ride upstate :) The three stories in this volume continue on with individuals from the night World and the human world finding their soulmates and working towards the future for all. It was hinted from the last book that Circle Daybreak, a witch organization that works to bring together the inhabitants of the Night World and the human world, attempts to end the fighting and hatred between the two has resurfaced. Many Daybreakers feel that the fact that countless, and in some cases, very important, members of the Night World have found human soulmates means that a new era is approaching and that the opportunity for the two worlds to coexist peacefully is within reach. Dark Angel tells of the near death experience of Gillian Lennox, a witch of the second kind, meaning that she is oblivious to her ancestry. Gillian copes with this and her new found powers with the help of her "guardian angel." Angel starts out as a helpful and encouraging presence, but things take a turn for the worst when Gillian finds out that Angel wants to kill her soulmate and possess his body so that he could live on earth. The Chosen gives the story of a young vampire hunter, Rashel, who kills any and all vampires in a obsession to avenge to her mother's death and her friend Timmy's disappearance at the hand of a red-haired vampire. Ironically, Rashel's soulmate is one of the very creatures she seeks to destroy. Finally, in Soulamte, a girl learns, from mysterious notes left by her subconcious mind, that she is an Old Soul, a human who keeps coming back from the void, ever since the dawn of civilization. Hannah begins to remember her days in past years, and the one with whom she was always destined to spend them with, Thiery, the first made vampire, Lord of the Night World, and leader of Circle Daybreak. Mysteriously enough, Hannah never lives to see the dawn of her seventeenth birthday and her numerous deaths that span over the centuries are unclear. She is told by a stranger that it is her soulmate who has repeatedly killed her, but when old memories start to rise within her she realizes that she has been kept from lifetimes of happiness with Thierry due to a love triangle that dates back to the creation of the Night World Council.

Another Vampire Series!!: Night World Vol. 1

My first impression of this series was that it was less about the supernatural and more of what love means to individuals who have found it:
There are two main rules for those belonging to the Night World. The first is to never tell a human about the existence of vampires, werewolves, witches, or anything of their secret history. The second is to never fall in love with a human. Break either, and the consequence is death, for the Night Worlder as well as the human. The Night World series are basically short stories of what happens when these rules are broken:
In Secret Vampire Poppy's life is brought to a sudden stop when she is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Her best friend, and secret crush, since kindergarten, James a vampire of the Night World, is her only hope of survival. But saving Poppy would mean death for him, foremost because it would be an unwritten confession that James had fallen in love with a human, and in order to change her, James must tell her his darkest secret. The two rules would be broken. Once his decision is made, James gets an unwanted visit from his immoral cousin, Ash, who puts Poppy and James in danger of the wrath of the entire Night World Council...

In Daughters of Darkness three vampire sisters escape the tyrannical island which was formally their home in exchange for freedom in the outside human world. Upon learning of their absence, the girls' brother, the infamous Ash from Secret Vampire, is sent by his family to bring them back home. What the arrogant, bad-boy vampire does not expect is to find his soulmate while attempting to persuade his sisters to return home, much less that the girl would be human. Discovering this, Ash is faced with his own immorality and reminded constantly of the way he acted towards humans before he found himself tied to one. I suppose this is what we would call poetic justice, a vampire who hates humans, labeling them 'vermin,' unwillingly loving what he once hated. Of course, the Night World Law forbids them to be together and most certainly would present them with death for claiming that they were soulmates. The Night World Council would not hesitate to kill Ash's youngest sister, Jade and her soulmate as well, who happens to be the younger brother of Mary-Lynette, the human girl Ash is fated to be with forever. The only solution for them is to stay hidden in the human world, if they aren't caught first...

In the last book of Night World Vol. 1, Spellbinder two witch cousins, direct decedents of the most powerful witch, Hellewise, fight each other for the affections of a human boy. Blaise fights simply to have him, to conquer. Thea fights to protect him from her somewhat twisted cousin Blaise, and fights her own emotions, which include pure love for the human boy Eric, and fear of death by the Night World Council should they find out her one and only love is human. Throughout the story, Blaise uses underhanded methods to win Eric, bewitchment and allure, none of which work because his love for Thea is pure and cannot be tainted. In the midst of it all, a dangerous spirit is released from the void endlessly searching to avenge deaths of centuries past. It is Thea's duty to send the spirit back and with Eric by her side, she is confident that they will live through it. Then the Inner Circle of Witches appear at Thea's home to chastise her for using forbidden spells, and find that an even greater punishment must await her for breaking the two most important rules of the Night World...

Finished 'salem's Lot!

I really liked this one, although it was a little hard to follow because the stories switched so often. I can't get over how scary 'salem's Lot was and I actually jumped when I heard the wind "scratching" at the window a few days ago. I suppose this book was unnerving because some of it is actually believable, such as entire families inexplicably disappearing in the dead of night, or mysterious strangers spontaneously arriving in a town where if you weren't born there, you were considered an outsider and thought the worst of. Also disturbing was the fact that the town itself was so isolated and withdrawn within its own borders that I assume no help would ever have arrived. What happened to Father Callahan was also disturbing. Supposedly, he lost his faith at the end, and he made reference to Cain. Judging by the fact that Barlow allowed him to live, I think that Father Callahan was made to wander like Cain, safe from any harm, but always wandering. The one question I have is how Barlow could have bestowed such a punishment on Father Callahan? Otherwise, despite the extinction of 'salem's Lot, things ended optimistically, with two people who know the truth fighting for tomorrow.

Nearly everyone has inexplicably disappeared in 'salem's Lot. Although, these disappearances can be explained by those who know the truth, and that is a pitiful number. With the loss of Susan Norton to the vampires, only Matt Burke, Ben Mears, Jimmy Cody, and a little boy named Mark Petrie, who was nearly turned by Danny Glick, know what evil has taken up residence in 'salem's Lot. The introduction of Mr. Barlow rises horrible fears in the reader, for there is no doubt what this man, if he can be considered as such, is doing to the people of 'salem's Lot. Though his motives are unclear at the moment, it is certain that Barlow is turning every man woman and child in the town, or rather, having his 'minions' turn them. What he hopes to accomplish by these actions is not known, whether it is out of pure evil or the building blocks of a greater plan. The concept of an entire town disappearing and not a soul knowing of it is very unsettling. What's more, Susan's claim of "there's lots more of us now" does not put the odds in the favor of those who know the truth. Initially, there were only five of them, one of which is now, undoubtedly, feeding information on Ben, Matt, Jimmy, and Mark> With Susan on their side, the vampires must know that some individuals know what they are and will certainly expect action from the group....

'salems's Lot by Stephen King

I'm reading this one on recommendation. 'salem's Lot is Stephen Kings second novel and is mainly about rising author Ben Mears and his experiences in a town which he visited shorty as a child. In order to write his new novel on the infamous Marsten House, where a man killed his wife 32 years prior, Ben returns to Jerusalem's Lot to examine the house, hoping it will serve as a muse for his novel. The town, like many others, is a source for gossip, mostly including the new 'outsiders' that have recently moved in for who knows how long. The book frequently switches stories, ranging from insignificant townspeople in shaky marriages to the grieving family of two boys, both of whom are assumed dead. So many stories combined in one book seems impossible to follow, but the individual accounts of each person connects to the other in some way. No doubt the characters will meet up at some point in time.
When the Marsten House is inexplicably occupied by two seemingly harmless businessmen, strange occurrences take place in the dry old town of 'salem's Lot, including the disappearance of one of the Glick boys, and the 'death' of the other. From the inferences told by old Matt Burke, puncture marks on the neck of his former student Mike Reyerson and the reaction Mike had after Matt introduced him to a crucifix, one can assume what is lurking about in 'salem's Lot. Indeed, Matt assumes as much, causing others who he confided in to question his sanity.
Now, Ben Mears and his girlfriend Susan Norton are determined to prove him right, ignoring rational thought. All three want to think that Danny Glick and Mike Reyerson had died from the same unknown causes, but Matt's description is impossible to ignore, with his encounter with Mike, having been announced dead hours before, and the high evil laugh of a child in the guest room which Mike had occupied before his 'death.' With these factors in mind, Matt, Ben, and Susan, consider the impossible and embrace the evil in 'salem's Lot.

Finished "The Green Mile" SPOILER!!!

As I have guessed, condemned E Block inmate John Coffey had been wrongly convicted for unspeakable crimes against the Deterick twins. What I found extremely curious was that Cold Mountain Penitentiary's warden, Hal Moores, could actually pick up a pen and sign away the form that would make Coffey's execution final after he had given his wife back the life that her brain tumor would have stolen. Could he honestly believe that a man gifted with such abilities would be capable of harming two young girls in such a way? All along, it had been another more likely person to murder the girls, whom John Coffey tried without success to help. In all honesty, when the true murderer was identified, it was not to my surprise. What knotted my stomach the most was that John Coffey, a truly good soul who only wanted to help, had died for another man's crime, and by those who knew the truth. I cannot understand how Paul just let it happen, regardless of Coffey's wishes. Towards the end, Stephen King, seems obsessed with death. He explains how each of the guards on E Block had died, along with Melinda Moores and Paul's own wife. He explains the horrible, but (lets be honest) deserved fate of Percy Wetmore and how he lived the rest of his empty life. Furthermore, he includes the death of poor little Mr. Jingles, whom Coffey had restored life to and also elongated it, as he had done with Paul, if he did not exactly know he was doing it. Lastly, Paul Edgecombe reflects on his own long and unnatural lifespan and, or so it seems to me, gives the reader a foreboding feeling of death with the last line of the novel, which is, undoubtedly the single most intriguing line that I have ever read: "We each owe a death, there are no exceptions, I know that, but sometimes, oh God, the Green Mile is so long."

The Green Mile by Stephen King

I absolutely love the works of Stephen King and plan to read more of his novels this year. So far, I am completely fascinated by The Green Mile, the story of prison guard Paul Edgecombe, set in Depression Era 1932. At Cold Mountain Penitentiary, "Boss Edgecombe" supervises convicted killers until their DOE (date of execution) when he and his fellow guards will take the condemned on their last walk down The Green Mile, a lime green colored path of sorts that leads to 'Old Sparky', the electric chair, where justice awaits. Paul tells of the final days of several convicted killers, including one Eduard Delacroix (who "tamed" a mouse by the name of Mr. Jingles that most on E Block are taken with, and who suffered a horrific death by arrogant, politically connected Percy Wetmore), William Wharton, (an absolutely psychotic youth), and the curious John Coffey, a colossal man with solemn eyes, who was convicted for the rapes and murders of twin girls. Found with their lifeless bodies cradled in his arms, a group of men reported Coffey's continuous screams of "I tried to take it back, but it was too late."
Unexplainable events took place soon after John Coffey's arrival at E Block. The giant of a man seemingly cured a urinary infection that had mercilessly plagued Paul. Another was that John Coffey took the dying Mr. Jingles in his hands and restored life to the odd little mouse after Percy Wetmore had crushed him on the eve of Delacroix's execution. After both these episodes, little black bugs emerged from Coffey's mouth, turned white and disappeared into oblivion. No other word can describe Coffey's actions except a miracle.
Now, being so far into the book and having read of Coffey's unique ability, I wonder. I wonder if Coffey had only been trying to help the two Deterick girls. What if he had been trying restore life to them just as he did the mouse only they were too far gone and were beyond his help? "I tried to take it back, but it was too late." I wonder if Coffey had been trying to take back what the real murderer had done to the twins. I wonder if John Coffey had been wrongly convicted of this heinous crime.

Finished "The Time Tarveler's Wife" last Friday! MORE SPOILERS!!!

It came as no surprise that Henry did indeed pass away. The explanation of his not being able to control this aspect of his life was because it already happened when Clare was thirteen. Apparently, Henry never had any conscious control over his life and excepted his death with good grace at the end. What makes Henry's death sickening is that Clare's own father and brother were the ones to shoot him on a day when the two had decided to go hunting and Henry had, unfortunately, time traveled to that exact instance while being rendered helpless due to his poor physical state resulting from the blizzard he had been trapped in. Of course, with careful observation, one could have predicted Henry's death from the beginning of the story, when thirteen year old Clare awoke to her dying husband's-to-be cries of 'Clare! Clare!' and found her brother and father near a red stained patch of grass with another self of Henry's at the scene. Henry was, no doubt, aware that he had occupied that patch of grass moments before.
The ending to The Time Traveler's Wife was sad, but also happy in a way. Past selves of Henry's continuously visit Alba in the future, and so he is able to spend stolen time with his beloved daughter. On the other hand, Henry never appears to Clare, except for one final time when Clare is 82. Until then, Clare continuously waits for Henry on his word that they will see each other again. It seems that no matter the circumstances, Clare is destined to always wait for Henry, always filled with the anticipation and relief that comes with his reappearances. Unhindered by his death, Clare forever waits for her love.

pg 453 HUGE SPOILER ALERT

Tragedy has struck Clare: she is coping with the anticipated death of her mother and the depression that comes with her numerous miscarriages. It seems that the only thing keeping her together is the word of a future self of Henry's that the couple will indeed have a child. Although, this idea seems hard to hold on to when Henry insists on ending their attempts. Henry and Clare do have child, if not in the most orthodox of ways. (A past self of Henry's has the child with Clare, because the present Henry has had a vasectomy with the hope that Clare will stay healthy.) In the meantime, the DeTamble's consult Dr. Kendrick, a geneticist who will eventually develop the phrase CDP (Chrono-Displaced Person) after studying Henry and finding the gene responsible for his involuntary trips in time. After reading a bit more, its revealed that Alba, Henry and Clare's daughter, time travels as well, with one exception. Unlike her father, Alba can time travel at will in some instances. It is also revealed on one of Henry's travels into the future that he will die before his daughter's sixth birthday. I can't help but wonder if this can be changed, but judging by Henry's previous explanation that he cannot change the past I would say it is highly unlikely. However, seeing as this is not the past that will be changed, but the future and eventually the present, can it be changed? Or is the future really set in stone and mapped out for an individual despite what many believe? I think that if Henry does die, then it suggests that people have no control over their own futures. Or perhaps Henry is just an abnormal exception due to his odd ability?

pg 303

I have just read about Henry and Clare's wedding. I didn't think it was right for Henry's future self to be the one to marry Clare, because his present self will miss out on the experience for nearly a decade. A few months after their marriage, a future self of Henry's appears at the DeTamble's door, bleeding and pierced all over with glass. I'm really interested to know what happened to Henry that left him in this state and wonder if this incident stirs Clare's emotions in any way. For example, maybe this incident will negatively impact her, and she will always be focused on Henry in another time rather than in the present. She could have a perfectly intact Henry with her, but still be worrying about him in another time, missing out on the time she has with him the present. Also, I'm starting to doubt their relationship. I don't understand how it can work out for them when Clare is always stationary and Henry is forever traveling to places she can't follow.

The TIme Traveler's Wife

NEW BOOK! :) Okay, my first impression of The Time Traveler's Wife was that it was VERY confusing. One minute its 1991, and then its 1977, then back again. Its seemed that the dates are all over the place in no particular order. Also, I cannot find any specific plot. All of it is basically stories of how Henry and Clare met and sometimes what they are doing in the present. One thing that i found a little disturbing was the fact that Clare was only twelve and see knew that she was going to marry Henry, keeping in mind he usually appeared when he was over the age of 30. Actually, I'm enjoying the story so far (I'm about 200 pgs in out of like 500), but I feel that I have to be very focused when reading this book because the dates matter. Its also very unpredictable. You can never know what years the story will be taking place in next or what ages the characters will be. I also think its interesting that the "present Henry" has absolutely no recollection of Clare at all yet she knows much about him. I even feel a bit sorry for Clare, because the "present Henry" is not at all the man that she grew up with all those years.
In all honesty, I chose this book because it is a fantasy story as well as romance. Usually, I have no patience for love stories.

Finished CRASHED! :)

After finishing this book I have changed my opinion of Jude, the Mech's fearless leader. In the beginning of the series, he is presented as parental figure of sorts to the confused and frightened new recipients of the download. Now, however, its become clear that he is ruthless and will stop at nothing to carry out his plans, even if it mean that many innocents will die in the process. I admit that I was quite angry when he escaped from the BioMax officials, but also relieved in a way, because he does have information vital to the Mechs' survival. Although, the way in which he carries out his rebellion is not unlike the methods of the Brotherhood of Man; both are convinced that they are better than the other and will not hesitate to commit violent acts for their cause. I can't wait to read the conclusion of this series, although it might be a while. There were many cliffhangers at the end and I am anxious to see where they lead...

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!! pg 385

Oh my God. I never would have guessed that Ani, Lia's new best friend, would betray the other Mechs to the Brotherhood of Man. Ani's character was always happy and spirited, but I guess that when her girlfriend Quinn, (Ani is homosexual) betrayed her trust, Ani just gave up all hopes of happiness her new life. Not that she had to go and drag everyone down with her, but I suppose being told continuously by a religious radical that you are a soulless abomination does take its toll. Despite her betrayal, I have a lot of sympathy for Ani. Her girlfriend betrayed her, Lia deserted her in order to deal with problems of her own, and so she was withdrawn from any and all forms of friendship and compassion until she was deluded into believing in the Brotherhood's opinion of her and the other Mechs while in her weak emotional state. The Brotherhood is now using Ani and other "acquired" Mechs as lab rats in order to find a way to kill Mechs, along with all copies of their memories so that they can't be re-downloaded. However, I'm happy to know that Auden is not a part, and does not even know, of the atrocities being committed by his idol, the "Honored Rai Sovana." Hopefully by the end of this book he will have severed all ties with the murderous group.
UPDATE!!! As it turns out, the 42 victims of the "Skinner Attack" on the corp town are all alive and well. In fact, they are working with the Brotherhood of Man. MEANING the Mechs were set up and made to look like murderers when in reality, they had no part in any act of violence towards the Orgs. NOTE: The Brotherhood of Man is looking less like a religious group and more like a tyrannical/ terrorist group with every turn of a page!

PAGE 244....

Things are not looking good for the Mechs, Lia especially. She has two choices given to her by the head of BioMax: be blackmailed with publicized accounts of her "actions" in the corp town massacre, or betray Jude, who BioMax has been searching for, and keep her own record clean. I'm really interested to see what Lia will do because she has disliked Jude from her early days as Mech, but it seems that she has become quite taken with Riley, (just my own assumption!!!) Jude's closest friend. Lia's dilemma is that Riley is blindly loyal to Jude, and to betray him would be to sever any ties she has with Riley, and I do not think she would willingly keep herself from Riley, who understands her more than any other individual due to what they went through together at the corp town. Also, there have been MAJOR character changes with Auden Heller--in the previous book, Auden was a unique individual, concerned with what others had forgotten or simply neglected, including Lia. Now he has renounced his friendship with her completely and is the polar opposite of the boy that Lia once loved. I just thought that was interesting and wonder if he is capable of returning to his former self.

PAGE 207!

So far, I think that CRASHED is better than SKINNED. There is much more going on in the sequel, including the revelation of hidden secrets, war, and deception. Its been focusing more on the adventures of Lia and the other Mechs, such as those who would declare war on the Orgs because of the opinions of the Brotherhood, a Faither group which hates Mechs, and a group that Lia's former best friend Auden is now a part of. And war has been declared, incidentally, by another Mech with Lia's face. Now, because she was in the area of a massive attack on the Orgs, Lia is blamed for the deaths of 42 people. The reader knows that the attack wasn't Lia's doing, but the authorities are content to blame her, possibly because they do not know who the real attacker is. Without their tracking devices (each Mech has a GPS system, allowing BioMax to know their exact location) feeding them the proper information, or to the right people, the authorities are clueless, and for now the attacker remains at large.

Sequel to SKINNED: CRASHED. Just started!

I just started the sequel to SKINNED! Its called CRASHED. I'm only about 30 pages in, but from that, its apparent that Lia has finally subdued to the other Mechs and joined them. She is content with participating in their daily activities and has earned a high status with Jude, one of the first to receive the downloading and currently the leader of Lia's group of Mechs. Apparently, Lia is quite happy with her new life, but it seems that an old and sympathetic friend, Auden Heller, who was ready to stand in the fronts lines in order to defend Lia and other Mechs, has literally joined the "dark side" of society. Out of bitterness and revenge, Auden has condemned his one time friend, and others like her.
UPDATE ON CRASHED: I've read about one hundred pages now! I think that this one is more of a page turner than SKINNED because it starts out with mystery, character change, and tragedy, unlike the first where all that is happening is Lia's "readjustment" in the early chapters.

SKINNED by Robin Wasserman

I just finished SKINNED! My first impression of the book was that it was going to go very slowly. However, once the background was introduced, it went by at a good pace. The first few chapters were all dedicated to teenage Lia Khan's perception of the downloading that will literally give Lia her life back, but at cost that she would never have willingly paid. In the following chapters the reader finds that Lia has been subjected to a fatal car accident, claiming her life in both the literal and social terms. Upon realizing that she was going to die, Lia's parents opted for another option: A computerized downloading of all Lia's memories and a scan of her brain into a new mechanical body. Many would think this process a dream come true. You will never truly get hurt and you can never die. In other words, this downloading process grants the recipient eternal life. Many would rejoice at this knowledge, but it is a nightmare come true for Lia. She has become what those in her society hate and fear, because she is anything but human. She is a Skinner. Although she has been saved from death, Lia has lost her life. Her friends do no except her, her boyfriend is disgusted at the sight of her, and others of her kind are endlessly attempting to get her to sever all bonds to her old life.
I really enjoyed SKINNED. The underlying message of this story of a teenage girl trying to find her way in a society that absolutely rejects her is clear and quite sad. I hope you will read SKINNED and find out for yourself!