International Covers #1 The Hunger Games

America

Dutch

Chinese.

Danish

German

Greek

Russian


Personally, I like the American and Chinese versions best. I hate the Russian cover.

Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

From Goodreads:
In this emotionally powerful novel, three women face the age-old midlife question: If I’m halfway to death, is this all I’ve got to show for it? Holly, filled with regret for being a stay-at-home mom, sheds sixty pounds and loses herself in the world of extramarital sex. Andrea, a single mom and avowed celibate, watches her friend Holly’s meltdown with a mixture of concern and contempt. Holly is throwing away what Andrea has spent her whole life searching for—a committed relationship with a decent guy. So what if Andrea picks up Holly’s castaway husband? Then there’s Marissa. She has more than her fair share of challenges—a gay teenage son, a terminally ill daughter, and a husband who buries himself in his work rather than face the facts. As one woman’s marriage unravels, another one’s rekindles. As one woman’s family comes apart at the seams, another’s is reconfigured into something bigger and better. In this story of connections and disconnections, one woman’s up is another one’s down, and all three of them will learn the meaning of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness before it is through.

My Review:
How to describe this book? It's very good. I don't know why, but when I picked this one up, I was expecting to not like it as much as Hopkins' other books. I had read a review on Goodreads that said people under thirty wouldn't understand it. I would have to disagree with that; being a seventeen-year-old male (and having read a somewhat extensive amount of adult fiction for my age) I understood it fine. I don't think age is everything in liking this one or not.

Also, there's the issue of will I like this if I am not a woman? And I would say...maybe. I personally loved it, and I am a heterosexual male. However, I would say that it's more likely that I am the exception and not the rule, not that you shouldn't still try this one.

As for the story itself, it was pretty much flawless. Ellen has a way of creating stories that show the underbelly of the everyday in such an interesting way that I absolutely adore. However, the one problem that I had with it was that I knew what the big ending was going to be when I was less than twenty pages in. Predictability can really hurt a book.

Still, the book was intriguing, sad, and well-written--Although it's an adult book, you can still feel Ellen Hopkins in it.

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

Wow. Wow. I loved TFOHAT, but not so much The Dead-Tossed Waves. And then...there's The Dark and Hollow Places.
That just blew my mind.
It's not so much about running from zombies. The zombies aren't so much the evil ones in this book. I mean, they're definitely a problem, but they aren't the ones we're worried about for most of the book. It's the recruiters...this book just really shows you how hideous people can be.
It's by far the best zombie book I've ever read. It's also the darkest book in the entire series, and my favorite of the trilogy.
If you are hesitant after The Dead-Tossed Waves, go ahead. This one's incredible.
People say quite a bit in their reviews that they hope for a fourth book. No. God no. Don't make a trilogy longer. That's one of the worst things, in my opinion, a writer can do. If you don't write one that's equally good if not better, then you're just going to piss off a lot of people *cough cough The Mortal Instruments*
And really, where would she go with this one? I loved the open ending.
5/5*