Origin

Title: Origin

Author: Jessica Khoury (This is her first book)

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Romance, Mystery

Review: I have kind of mixed feelings about this book. If I was forced to give it a star rating, I'd probably say a 4 out of 5. I'm usually pretty easy to please, and find it extremely difficult to rate books less than 5. However, there were some good and bad things about this book. First of all, the action takes forever to get going. I read five to six chapters, and was about ready to give up. I hated everything about it, and it felt like it was just about a girl that wanted a boyfriend. I'm not a big fan of romance, but this book seemed to do a good job of making it not all about the love story, despite what I originally thought the book would turn out to be.

But it did get better. Also, in areas it was very difficult to read, as it felt like the author just took a thesaurus and looked up a ton of random words. The flow was very difficult. However, I do have some good things to say about the book as well.

After the action started to pick up, I was drawn in. I was still experiencing a few problems with the style of the writing, but I was able to ignore it for a good concept. That's something you should know about me. I'm a sucker for a good concept. In essence, Origin is about an immortal girl living amongst scientists - the mortals that created her. She is in the process of trying to become a scientist herself, so that she might help create a race of others like her to populate the world. But there is a possibility that there's evil lurking somewhere just out of reach.

It's a great concept. For me, it made reading the book worth it, and though it's definitely not the best book I've ever read, I would probably recommend it. However, there are some slightly graphic/intense scenes, and it explores the concept of just how far people would go for science. I wouldn't recommend it for younger children for this reason; it was very suspenseful, and there was a lot of exploration in life and death, as would be expected from a book of this nature. Overall, it was a decent book, and I enjoyed reading it.

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Title: The Hound of the Baskervilles

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle - The third of four Sherlock Holmes novels

Genre: Classic, Mystery

Review: I have always been a big fan of Sherlock Holmes. The way he is portrayed throughout his countless movies and television shows has always left me breathless and begging for more. The way he could solve a case using seemingly pointless facts was amazing to me. I always wanted to be just like him. However, I have just gotten around to actually reading one of the original books, and I'm certainly glad that I did. The book was interesting and intriguing, and I especially liked the point of view it was written in; first person, but from Watson's perspective. It give it more depth, and clearly shows Watson's admiration for his friend.

The Hound of the Baskervilles, though it was the third Sherlock Holmes book written, is perfectly able to be read on it's own; characters are introduced as if you had never heard of them before. This case concerns the Baskerville family, and the legend surrounding them. It is rumored that a giant hellhound has cursed the family, and will be the cause of their deaths. It was all a myth, until Sir Charles dies suddenly, seemingly from shock, with the footprints of a large hound mere feet away from the body. 

The book is well written and paced, and never once did I think that it was becoming boring. One of the most amazing things about how this book was written was the way that Doyle was able to surprise you, through the character of Holmes. He reveals a major twist, as if it is nothing at all; like we all should have known it to begin with. And, in retrospect, it makes sense. I really enjoyed reading this book, and, beyond a shadow of a doubt, would recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting classic to read.