You Have to Read This!

*Attention: Your reporter, Julianna, is being held under our custody for ruining the secret Secret series that may or may not secretly contain the Secret. In her place we have ask for you to run out and grab as many copies as you can before The Midnight Sun can get their hands on the secretive Secret. Thank you. Resume, if you must, but just as a final cry of help... You Have to Stop This!*

You Have to Stop This
By: Pseudonymous Bosch
Reported by: Juli... (<-- that's, um, totally not me.)

In this fifth and final (I swear!) book in my saga of secrets, a class trip to the local natural history museum turns dangerous, or perhaps deadly—and I don't mean in the bored-to-death way—when Cass accidentally breaks a finger off a priceless mummy. Forced to atone for this "crime" of vandalization, Cass and her friends Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji go to work for the mummy exhibit's curator, only to be blamed when the mummy disappears. To clear their names—and, they hope, to discover the Secret—the trio must solve the case of the missing mummy themselves.

In the midst of it all, there's still a Secret lurking. Will it finally be revealed? Why should I tell you that?! No matter what I do, no amount of warning seems to stick. You're still out there, reading and talking about the Secret, and now my life—and chocolate supply—is in the greatest danger yet! So please, with a cherry on top, I'm begging you! You have to stop this.

-Summary from Goodreads

Hey, guys! I'm back! They're watching every word I'm typing, though, so I better be careful before all of my chocolate supply is gone and M- I mean, um, others take it for their own pleasure.

You Have to Stop This is the fifth and final book in the critically acclaimed Secret series by Pseudonymous Bosch. If you haven't read the series yet, the first book is The Name of This Book is Secret. Don't read this book without reading the rest of the series first!

I'll start out by answering the one question that everyone wants to know (AKA the one question that may very well cost my chocolate supply): Do we learn the Secret?

...Yes...
...No...
Kind of.

Here's the thing: I loved this book (hey, look! My chocolate, it's back!). There was just as much suspense, humor, and fun in this book like the other ones in the series. We learn so much more about the characters' backgrounds, and this book was truly astounding--it definitely surpassed my expectations.  It's very clever on Mr. Bosch's part to add in his usual footnotes and brief interruptions, which works out well and the reader isn't suddenly jolted out from the story with sudden, certain comics concerning rabbits and cats...

Anyway, this book held my attention throughout its entirety. However, the Secret was just... unexpected. I knew the Secret was something big--that much was obvious--but this time, even surprised doesn't justify my reaction. Truly, I was shocked. In fact, I'm still teetering on the fence about how I felt about it. I do have to applaud Mr. Bosch, though, for taking that one big leap.

Overall, this book was wonderfully written and I enjoyed it greatly. I appreciated Mr. Bosch not wrapping up everything and all the characters' futures in a nice, tidy bow, because the very important theme of this story is the Secret and imagination--and I'm sure we all want to hope for the characters a life they deserve (whether good or bad, that's your call).

What's that? There's a note on my chocolate... its empty wrapper.
*You Have to Stop This!*

Fine. I'll stop. But you better stop stealing my chocolate... hey, give that back!

Waiting On Wednesday

 

*Edited to add: If you have not yet read Delirium, skip over the synopsis! It contains major spoilers. (Thanks Jenn!)*

This week, I'm waiting for...

PANDEMONIUM

By: Lauren Oliver

Lauren Oliver captivated readers with Delirium, the first book in a thrilling dystopian trilogy in which Lena Haloway dared to fall in love with Alex and escape the cure, the government-mandated procedure that renders a person immune to the disease of love. Lena and Alex staked their lives on leaving their oppressive society, but only Lena broke free.

Pandemonium continues Lena’s gripping story. After escaping from Portland, Maine, Lena makes it to the Wilds and becomes part of an Invalid community, where she transforms herself into a warrior for the resistance. A future without Alex is unimaginable, but Lena pushes forward and fights, both for him and for a world in which love is no longer considered a disease. Swept up in a volatile mix of revolutionaries and counterinsurgents, Lena struggles to survive—and wonders if she may be falling in love again.

Full of danger, forbidden romance, and exquisite writing, Lauren Oliver’s sequel to Delirium races forward at a breathtaking pace and is sure to appeal to fans who crave the high-stakes action of The Hunger Games and the bittersweet love story of Romeo & Juliet.

-Summary from Goodreads.   

Release date: March 6th, 2012

As you guys know, I'm a big, big fan of Lauren Oliver. She has such beautiful writing! Delirium was such an unique idea (you can see my review of it here) and executed so well, my expectations for Pandemonium are unrealistically high off the charts. But, knowing Lauren, she's going to meet those standards and beyond.

What are you waiting for this week?